HC Deb 22 February 1984 vol 54 cc572-3W
Dr. Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by how much, and in what parts of the National Health Service, the funding cuts of July 1983 have been restored.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Total NHS expenditure for 1983–84 is expected to be broadly as planned in Cmnd 8789. Nationally, health authorities have about the same spending power this year as last year. As announced in the public expenditure White Paper presented to Parliament on 16 February (Cmnd 9143), we plan to increase spending on the NHS in England by some £700 million next year, sufficient to provide for real growth in health authority services of some 1 per cent. These figures do not take account of further improvements in services that will be achieved by cost improvement and better efficiency.