HC Deb 10 March 1981 vol 1000 cc289-90W
Mr. McMahon

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how the United Kingdom compares with other member countries of the EEC in the proportion of the gross national product spent on the provision of private health services.

Sir George Young

I regret that information in the exact form requested is not available. The figures below for private expenditure on health services for other member countries of the EEC in 1974, or near date, also include payments borne by individuals for goods and services provided within national health schemes or their equivalents—for example, prescription charges. Reliable later information is not yet available; the OECD publication ''Public Expenditure on Health", Paris 1977, from which these figures are drawn, is currently being updated.

Private health expenditure as a percentage of"trend" GDP
Belgium 0.8
Denmark na
France 1.6
Germany 1.5
Greece 1.2

Private health expenditure as a percentage of"trend" GDP
Ireland 0.8
Italy 0.8
Luxembourg na
Netherlands 2.2
United Kingdom 0.6

Notes:

na=not available.

"trend" GDP=GDP at market prices averaged over a number of years to eliminate the effect of cyclical fluctuations.