§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the percentage of gross domestic product devoted to the public social services in Britain in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and what was the equivalent percentage of gross domestic product for each of the United Kingdom's European Economic Community partners in each of these years.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke:The proportion of the United Kingdom's gross domestic product devoted to expenditure on health and personal social services over the period 1979 to 1983 was:
Year Proportion of GDP (per cent) 1979 5.8 1980 6.4 1981 6.7 1982 6.5 1983 6.7 Comparable information for other European Community countries is not readily available.