§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out the following comparative information for Scotland, France and Germany in the latest year: (a) health care expenditure per head of population, (b) health care expenditure expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product, (c) the number of doctors per 100,000 of population, (d) the number of nurses per 100,000 of population and (e) the number of hospital beds per 1,000 of population.
§ Mr. John MacKayDifferences between the health care and health financing systems of Scotland, France and West Germany, and between their systems for classifying expenditure and measuring staffing levels, mean that no precise comparisons can be made. However this information, and the latest year for which it is available, is set out in the following table:
Scotland France West Germany Year (a) £289 £503 £595 1982 (b) *8.1 8.0 8.0 1980 (c)† 196 224 256 ‡1977 (d) 1,025 843 394 ‡1977 (e) 12.0 12.1 ║11.6 †1977 * For 1982 † Doctors and dentists per 100,000 population. ‡ The latest year for which information for France is available. ║ For 1978; information for 1977 was not published. Figures of this kind provide no more than a rough guide, and should not be taken as necessarily reflecting differences in the levels of provision of health care.