§ Mr. Tapsellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the latest figures for Government expenditure as compared with 1964 at 1964 prices for hospitals, current and capital, widows' pensions, the family doctor service, family allowances, unemploy-ployment benefit, supplementary benefits, nursery education, death grants, and maternity grants, respectively; and if he will outline the main factors responsible for the changes in expenditure.
§ Mr. TaverneThe available information for 1964–65 and 1968–69 is given in the table below:
£ million 1964–65 outturn (current prices) 1968–69 estimates (1964–65 prices) Hospitals—current 630 717* Hospitals—capital 73 107† Executive Councils (includes the "family doctor" service) 268 316‡ (current prices) Family allowances 143 298§ Supplementary benefits 223 394|| Other social security benefits 1,596 2,378¶ It is not possible to show expenditure on social security benefits on a constant price basis because of the technical difficulties involved in deflating transfer payments.
* The increase results from the development of the service.
† The increase results from progress with the hospital building programme.
‡ The increase results from the development of the services, allowing for the decisions on charges announced in Cmnd. 3515.
§ Mainly the result of increases in weekly rates per eligible child from 8s. (for the second child)/10s. (for third and subsequent children) to 15s./17s. in April, 1968 and 18s./20s. in October, 1968. The number of recipients, estimated in December, 1967 at 6.64 million, was about 5½ per cent. higher than 3 years earlier.
|| The increase results from improvements in the scale rates and an increase of about 30 per cent. in the total number of recipients following the introduction of the new scheme of supplementary benefits in place of national assistance.
¶ The increase results partly from an improvement in the value of the benefits, and partly from increases of about 10 per cent. in the number of retirement pensions in payment and the number of days of sickness benefit paid.