§ Sir David Priceasked 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 ClarkeAccording 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.
94WIn 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