§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of Scotland's gross domestic product is accounted for by expenditure on the National Health Service; and how this figure compares with similar health service expenditure in member countries of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. FairgrieveExpenditure on the National Health Service in 1979–80 accounts for approximately 7.1 per cent. of Scotland's gross domestic product. An exact comparison with other EEC countries is not possible but health expenditure as a percentage of gross national product for the following member countries in recent years is broadly as follows:
Country Total health expenditure as percentage of GNP West Germany 9.7 Netherlands 8.6 Belgium 8.5 France 8.1 Denmark 6.6 United Kingdom 5.6 Greece 5.5 No recent reliable information is available in respect of Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg.
International comparisons of the share of gross national product spent on health care are not reliable because of substantial differences between health care systems and the treatment of health spending in national accounts. Nor do such comparisons take account of differences in value for money.