HC Deb 22 February 1988 vol 128 cc37-9W
Mr. Alan W. Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of Britain's gross domestic product was devoted to both public and private health care in each year from 1958 to 1988.

Mr. Newton

Data on net public expenditure, excluding NHS charges, and private expenditure as a percentage of GDP for the period 1965 to 1986 are shown in the table. They have been derived from Central Statistical Office national accounts and relate to the United Kingdom as a whole. Complete data on a consistent basis are not available for earlier years.

Net public expenditure and private expenditure as a percentage of GDP
Net public expenditure Private expenditure
1965 3.6 0.6
1966 3.7 0.5
1967 3.9 0.5
1968 3.9 0.6
1969 3.8 0.6
1970 3.9 0.6
1971 3.9 0.6
1972 4.2 0.6

Net public expenditure Private expenditure
1973 4.1 0.6
1974 4.7 0.6
1975 5.0 0.5
1976 4.9 0.5
1977 4.8 0.5
1978 4.7 0.5
1979 4.7 0.5
1980 5.2 0.6
1981 5.4 0.6
1982 5.2 0.7
1983 5.4 0.7
1984 5.4 0.8
1985 5.2 0.8
1986 5.3 0.8

Notes:

(a) Before April 1 1974 local authorities incurred both capital and current expenditure on the National Health Service. The table contains all readily identifiable elements of such expenditure.

(b) Data beyond 1986 are not available.

(c) There are slight rounding differences between these figures and those published by the OECD for purposes of international comparisons.