§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a table showing the expenditure allocation per head in each NHS region in each year since 1983, including those allocations for 1990–91, and express this expenditure in both current and standard prices.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 30 January 1990]: Figures of total revenue expenditure per head of population by region for the years 1983–84 to 1988–89 (the latest available) are shown in the table.
I should point out that in meeting their expenditure health authorities have the use of some resources (local income and working balances) in addition to their allocations and consequently figures based on expenditure or solely on allocations are not directly comparable.
461W(b) Mid-year estimates of resident populations—1983 to 1988 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys).
Notes:
1. The figures for the earlier years have been expressed at 1988–89 prices by the use of the gross domestic product deflator.
2. HCHS includes hospital, community health, patient transport (i.e. ambulance), blood transfusion and other services.
3. Capital expenditure and expenditure on family practitioner services (FPS) is excluded. The latter expenditure is accounted for by family practitioner committees (FPCs) and cannot strictly be attributed to particular regions. However, prior to 1 April 1985 some 90 district health authorities in England each had an associated FPC and their expenditure figures for 1983–84 and 1984–85 included small elements relating to FPCs' administrative expenses which are not separately identifiable.
4. Expenditure incurred by the special health authorities (SHAs) for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals and other SHAs providing central services to the National Health Service and expenditure met centrally by the Department is excluded.
5. The population figures used make no allowance for people resident in one region who receive treatment in another for the differences in morbidity and age/sex structure of particular populations.
6. The figures for the Thames regions are influenced by additional costs such as London weighting allowances and also by the fact that from 1987–88 the South West Thames regional health authority (RHA) accounted for the total cost of the London ambulance service which in earlier years was shared by all four London RHAs.