HC Deb 23 June 1976 vol 913 cc563-4W
Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will compare, for the latest year for which the figures are available, and in £ sterling, expenditure per head of population and total expenditure on social insurance and on social assistance, including means-tested benefits, in each of the EEC member States and Switzerland;

(2) what percentage of gross domestic product was spent on social insurance and on social assistance, including means-tested benefits, in each of the EEC member States and Switzerland, in the latest year for which the figures are available.

Mr. Orme

The following information is derived from material published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities in "Social Statistics: Social Accounts 3/1975". Separate figures for social insurance and social assistance are not available.

1. Expenditure in 1973 on all "social benefits", including health services and personal social services*, expressed in £ sterling based on the exchange rates applicable at 25th June 1973:

Expenditure per head Total expenditure
£ (£ million)
United Kingdom … 211 11,844
Belgium … 360 3,510
Denmark … 498 2,510
France … 364 18,950
Germany … 486 30,120
Irish Republic … 124 378
Italy … 189 10,400
Luxembourg … 368 130
Netherlands … 409 5,500

2. Expenditure in 1973 on all "social benefits", including health services and personal social services*, expressed as a percentage of the gross domestic product at market prices:

Per cent.
United Kingdom … … 16.7
Belgium … … 19.2
Denmark … … 22.6
France … … 18.6
Germany … … 21.6
Irish Republic … … 14.4
Italy … … 19.6
Luxembourg … … 17.4
Netherlands … … 23.1

* Note: The precise definition of the social expenditure covered by these figures is given in "Social Statistics: Social Accounts 3/1974", page 29.

Information about Switzerland is not available on the same definition.

It is impracticable to make valid international comparisons in this field because the services and benefits provided, and the institutional arrangements for their administration, vary considerably from State to State. Moreover, the EEC social accounts cover social provision in both the public and the private sectors, and exclude some items such as capital expenditure and tax allowances in lieu of other forms of family support. The information given in the tables must, therefore, be interpreted with extreme caution.