§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the gross annual cost of the National Health Service in its first full year of existence and, allowing for inflation, what is the present expenditure on the service at those prices.
§ Mr. NewtonThe gross annual cost of the National Health Service in Great Britain in 1949–50 was £447 million. At 1949–50 prices, the 1986–87 National Health Service expenditure in Great Britain (£18–75 billion) would have been £1,519 million.