§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what inflation assumptions were built into Welsh health authority budget allocations for the fiscal year 1989–90 and plans for fiscal year 1990–91 and 1991–92;
(2) what was (a) the hospital and community health services' pay and price deflator for Wales, for each fiscal year since 1979, (b) the inflation assumption used in National Health Service budget plans in each year from 1978–79 to 191–92 and (c) the gross domestic product deflator for Wales for each year from 1978–79.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe information requested cannot be provided exactly in the form asked for. The table shows in column 1 the percentage increase in hospital and community health services pay and prices; the figures are based on English data as no information is collected in Wales. The second column shows the provision for inflation made in district health authorities' initial revenue allocations each year. Because the figures relate to allocations made at the beginning of each year, they do not take account of any supplementary funding made available in year to meet the excess costs of pay awards (mainly for review bodies staff) over and above the initial inflation allowance. They are not therefore comparable with the figures in column 1. Each health authority makes its own plans for inflation in setting its budget for the year ahead; however, these details are not held centrally.
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Col. 1 Col. 2 Col. 3 Annual percentage. Increase in Hospital R and Community Health Services pay and prices (England) Welsh DHA Revenue Allocations: Inflation Assumptions2 Annual percentage. Increase in GDP (Wales)3 1981–82 8.2 7.24 10.7 1982–83 6.5 4 per cent, pay 11.5 9 per cent, prices 1983–84 5.1 6.0 9.7 1984–85 5.8 3 per cent, pay 2.3 5 per cent, prices 1985–86 5.2 3 per cent, pay 14.9 4 per cent, prices 1986–87 6.9 4.5 6.7 1987–88 8.5 3.75 7.7 1988–89 10.5 4.5 1— 1989–90 1— 5.0 1— 1990–91 1— 4.05 1— 1991–92 1— 3.05 1— 1 Projected figures are not available. 2 Inflation assumptions as contained in the initial recurrent revenue allocations to DHAs. 3 The information provided relates to calendar years. The figure for 1987–88 is provisional and projections for subsequent years are not available. 4 Prior to the introduction of cash planning in 1982–83 the inflation allowances made available to health authorities in each financial year reflected the full year effect on spending of forecast increases in pay and prices in the previous November to March and the full and part year effect of further increases forecast to occur during the course of the financial year. 5 Based on Her Majesty's Treasury forecast of the increase in the gross domestic product deflator