HC Deb 23 February 1987 vol 111 cc130-2W
Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the percentage annual increase since 1972 in National Health Service expenditure deflated by movements in National Health Service pay and prices after taking account of (i) demographic change and the increased health service demands from the growing number of elderly people, and (ii) the higher annual cost of medical technology rising faster than inflation.

Mr. Newton

[pursuant to his reply, 12 January 1987, c. 119]: Information in the form requested is available only in respect of gross current expenditure on the hospital and community health services and is as follows:

HCHS gross current expenditure changes after NHS pay and prices (per cent.) Increase in demographic demand (per cent.)
1972–73 4.6 0.0
1973–74 3.6 —0.1
1974–75 14.2 0.0
1975–76 1.7 0.0
1976–77 0.3 0.2
1977–78 3.0 0.3
1978–79 22.5 0.9
1979–80 —0.6 1.2
1980–81 3.0 0.9
1981–82 2.0 0.3
1982–83 0.8 0.5
1983–84 0.0 0.5
1984–85 —0.1 0.6
1985–86 0.2 1.3
1 NHS reorganisation in 1974 incorporated community health services with the hospital service.
2 Figures from 1978–79 are on a slightly different accounting basis and exclude Family Practitioner Committee administration costs.

The costs of medical technology are not separately identified but any increase above general inflation is partially reflected in the HCHS prices index. Increases in activity arising from the introduction of new techniques are estimated to have absorbed resources in the past of 0.5 per cent, a year.

Estimates of increased demand on services from demographic change and medical progress are expressed in expenditure terms but this does not imply that increased spending is the only way in which increased demand can be met. Health authorities' cost improvement programmes and improvements in efficiency have contributed significantly to meeting these demands in recent years.

Mr. Canavan

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will state, for each regional health authority, the allowance made for demographic factors and technical and service developments in determining (a) the total current expenditure and (b) the total capital expenditure for each year from 1979 to date.

Mr. Newton

[pursuant to his reply, 4 February 1987, c. 696]: Information is not available in the form requested. Although demographic factors are significant in determining each regional health authority's target share of available resources, their effect on allocations for any particular year is not and cannot be separately identified. Similarly, the cost of technical and service developments is not separately identified in allocations. It is for authorities to decide how to meet these pressures and those arising from demographic change from the total resources available to them; these resources include both cash allocations and savings from cost improvement programmes.

Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the total cash released through the competitive tendering process by each health authority, giving category of services and total, for each year from 1979 to the latest available date for England.

Mr. Newton

[pursuant to his reply, 4 February 1987, c. 701]: Information is not available in the form requested.

Competitive tendering for domestic, catering and laundry services in England had, by 30 September 1986, generated annual savings of some £73 million. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 25 November 1986 at columns 214–20 which gave a breakdown of that total by district health authority. No matching service breakdown is readily available, but the table following gives the latest available service-by-service analysis for each regional health authority.

Annual Savings. Quarter Ending 30 September 1986
Region Domestic £'000 Catering £'000 Laundry £'000 Total £'000
Northern 3,184 893 248 4,325
Yorkshire 4,913 634 285 5,832
Trent 3,877 1,132 263 5,272
East Anglian 3,594 90 159 3,843
N W Thames 7,104 823 533 8,460
N E Thames 6,402 324 1,133 7,859
S E Thames 3,275 638 281 4,194
S W Thames 5,345 358 847 6,550
Wessex 2,958 477 393 3,828
Oxford 2,112 43 63 2,218
S Western 2,260 775 541 3,576
W Midlands 4,749 1,616 556 6,921
Mersey 3,344 1,364 187 4,895
N Western 2,386 623 613 3,622
SHAs for the London Postgraduate Teaching Hospitals 1,166 95 89 1,350
Total 56,669 9,885 6,191 72,745