§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he intends to take to keep pace with extra demands on the national health service from(a) demographic trends and (b) health-specific cost pressures; and if he will make a statement on the impact of such extra demands on health service provision. [12788]
§ Mr. HoramThe Government's commitment on funding for the national health service is set out in the White Paper "The National Health Service: A Service with Ambitions", presented to Parliament in November 1996. The White Paper discusses fully the implications of demographic change, the public's expectations of the NHS and of medical and technical advances. The Government keep the totality of cost pressures on the NHS, and the scope to deliver improved value for money, under review in reaching their decisions on public expenditure, year by year.