§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was Britain's expenditure on public sector health care expressed as a percentage of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average in(a) 1979 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available; and what factors account for the relative change since 1979.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development collects and publishes figures for health spending. The table shows the figures requested for 1979 and 1990, the latest year for which figures are available for all countries.
Public expenditure on health care—value per capita in $ at current prices using purchasing power parities 1979 1990 United Kingdom 353 825 OECD Average 389 901 United Kingdom as percentage of OECD average 91 92 These figures are not fully comparable because of differences in definitions between countries. In addition, comparisons between expenditure figures alone ignore the efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are used. The national health service improved its efficiency by over a fifth between 1978–79 and 1991–92. In contrast, unit costs in the health care systems of comparable countries have generally risen over the last decade.