§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list National Health Service losses due to theft and fraud in England for the years 1980–81, 1981–82 and 1982–83, and in each case, as a percentage of total expenditure; and if he will seek information from other organisations in order to make a comparison.
§ Mr. John PattenRecorded losses for England due to theft, fraud, arson and so on are as follows:
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 £ £ £ Cash 72,986 62,447 257,080 Stores etc. 833,478 774,241 609,312 Total 906,464 836,688 866,392 Percentage of total current NHS expenditure 0.010 0.008 0.007 We consider it important to improve NHS security and the steps being taken were set out in my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Mrs. Knight) on 28 February at column 153–54. Differences between the NHS and other organisations mean that comparisons with figures from them will not be useful.