§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy towards the proposal from the Institute of Health Service Management, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing that at the minimum Health Service spending should be maintained as a proportion of national income with additional finance to cover demographic change and new problems such as AIDS.
§ Mr. NewtonWe are studying the report's analysis and comments, taking account of the fact that the proper measure of the National Health Service is the record and growing amount of treatment and care it provides.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest percentage estimates of the increased need for the National Health Service resources due to demographic change in each year from 1970 to 1995.
§ Mr. NewtonThe following figures are the latest available estimates of changes in demographic demand on hospital and community health services for each year from 1972–73 to 1995–96 (estimates for earlier years are not readily available):
375W
Per cent. change 1972–73 0.0 1973–74 0.0 1974–75 0.0 1975–76 0.0 1976–77 0.1 1977–78 0.3 1978–79 1.0 1979–80 1.2 1980–81 1.1 1981–82 0.4 1982–83 0.4 1983–84 0.5 1984–85 0.6 1985–86 1.3 1986–87 1.1 1987–88 1.0 1988–89 1.0 1989–90 1.0 1990–91 0.9 1991–92 0.7 1992–93 0.6 1993–94 0.3 1994–95 0.4 1995–96 0.9 The effect of demographic changes is not identified separately from other pressures for the family practitioner services which are demand led, but changes in population structure, and especially increases in the number of very elderly people, clearly lead to increased demand for these services as well.