HC Deb 16 March 1982 vol 20 cc93-4W
Sir David Price

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the amount of compensation which has been paid to patients in the National Health Service for each of the last five years resulting from court decisions and from voluntary ex gratia payments.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

According to returns from health authorities in England, the total amounts of compensation paid as a result of court decisions, legal advice or settlements out of court were as follows:

£
1976–77 904,608
1977–78 1,416,461
1978–79 1,519,380
1979–80 2,191,914
1980–81 3,440,227

Most of these sums will have been paid to patients, but it is not possible to identify the amounts separately from the information held centrally.

In addition, compensation paid on an ex gratia basis, including payments to patients, totalled:

£
1976–77 117,991
1977–78 146,216
1978–79 213,426
1979–80 209,189
1980–81 251,299