Building Workers (Hansard, 11 February 1986)

§ Mr. Nicholas Edwards

Information regarding skilled building workers is not separately available.

made available to health authorities in the period since 1979–80. The capital resources provided to individual health authorities are subject to fluctuating programmes of expenditure, and the family practitioner services, which are demand determined, no longer fall within health authorities' responsibilities. The percentage growth figures given in each year have been adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflator, since this approach reflects the true input cost to the economy as a whole of resources provided. The use of the RPI is not considered relevant. Equally, it would be inappropriate and misleading to revalue the recurrent resources made available to individual authorities by reference to the national NHS indices of pay and prices, because the composition of individual authorities' expenditure can vary substantially from the national average.

While it is recognised that health services need to grow at present by some 2 per cent. per annum in order to meet the pressures generated by demographic changes, medical and technological advances and by Government policy objectives, this does not imply a corresponding requirement to increase expenditure by this amount. Services are developed both by increased resource provision and by greater efficiency in the use of resources. In fact, as will be seen from the following figures, recurring revenue allocations to health authorities in Wales have grown on average by more than 3 per cent. per annum since 1978–79 after adjustment by the GDP deflator, irrespective of the service development potential of the efficiency savings that have been and are continuing to be made for the further benefit of patient care.