§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the amount of social protection (health care and social security) expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product in the following countries for 1981, 1982 and 1983: the Netherlands, West Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. WhitneyDefinitions of health care and social security differ from one country to another. However, using the definition of "social protection" described in the "European system of integrated social protection statistics: Methodology—Part I" (Eurostat, 1981), which includes employers' sick pay and private pension schemes, social protection expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product in 1981 was as follows:
per cent. Netherlands 31.7 West Germany 29.4 Denmark 30.7 Belgium 29.4 Luxembourg 28.8 France 27.4 Italy 25.3 United Kingdom 23.4 Information for 1982 and 1983 is not yet available.