§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the percentage of total labour costs of firms in(a) the automobile sector and (b) the insurance sector attributable to providing health insurance cover for their employees, in (i) the United States, (ii) Canada, (iii) France and (iv) Germany. [107802]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Denis MacShane, dated 2 February 2000:
As the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question regarding the percentage of total labour costs attributable to providing health insurance cover for various countries.The information you requested is not available from the ONS. The Statistical Office of the European Communities publishes data for Germany and France, although it should be noted that the latest available data relate to 1992. Information for the United States and Canada can be obtained from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics and Statistics Canada respectively.