§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will produce figures showing changes in real terms in expenditure, after allowing for inflation measured by the National Health Service cost deflator equivalent, to the figures given in his National Health Service annual report 1985 covered by note 3 of appendix B.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe expression "real terms" refers to changes in expenditure by reference to movements in general inflation, the accepted measure for which is the GDP deflator; "real terms" cannot be applied to specific National Health Service pay and price movements.
There are in fact only a limited number of places in the report where figures for expenditure are given in real terms and these mainly relate to social services expenditure to which National Health Service pay and price movements have no relevance. The two references to National Health Service expenditure in real terms both occur on page 2 of the annual report. In the case of total National Health Service spending the equivalent figure for which the hon. Member asks is given. In the case of capital expenditure the equivalent figure to the 5.8 per cent. real terms growth in 1984–85 is 6.4 per cent.