Hospital and Community Health Service

HC Deb 11 February 1988 vol 127 cc349-50W

Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the share of gross national product represented by the hospital and community health service budget, adjusted by the hospital and community health service pay and price index, in each year since 1979.

Mr. Newton

The table shows the available figures. Deflators of whatever kind are not appropriate to this calculation since each figure represents one cash sum expressed as a percentage of another in the same year.

Gross expenditure on the NHS and HCHS as a percentage of GDP
Year	NHS	1 2HCHS
1979	4.8	3—
1980	5.3	44.2
1981	5.5	4.3
1982	5.4	4.2
1983	5.7	4.5
1984	5.5	4.2
1985	5.4	4.2
1986	5.5	4.3
1 Including expenditure on central health and miscellaneous services (separate figures for United Kingdom not readily available).
2 The adjustment from financial year data to calendar year has been estimated using Departmental records.
3 Comparable data for 1979 are not readily available.
4 Estimated.