§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the percentage of the gross national product spent on the National Health Service in the United Kingdom in each year from 1970 to the latest available date; and how this figure compares with other members of the European Economic Community and the United States of America.
§ Mr. MoyleThe National Health Service in the United Kingdom took, in current prices, the following proportions130W of the gross domestic product (GDP) at factor costs, which is the measure most readily available for these comparisons, in 1970 and subsequent years:
Expenditure on health care is not recorded on a strictly comparable basis in the national accounts of the various EEC countries, and there are widely varying definitions of "health care". There are therefore serious difficulties in expressing such expenditure as a proportion of GDP so as to allow meaningful comparisons to be made. However, the latest comparisons made by the OECD of the fraction of GDP spent on health indicate that, if United Kingdom spending is taken as 100, then around 1974 the picture was as follows:
Percentage 1970 4.7 1971 4.7 1972 4.8 1973 4.7 1974 5.3 1975 5.7 1976 5.8
Total Public and Private Health Expenditure Public Health Expenditure United Kingdom 100 100 U.S.A. 142 65 Denmark N.A. 141 Netherlands 140 111 France 133 115 Germany 129 113 Ireland 119 117 Italy 115 113 Belgium 96 91 Luxembourg 77 N.A.