§ Mr. Terry DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the proportion of gross domestic product devoted to health care for each year since 1980 including expenditure on nursing home care.
§ Mr. Newton[holding answer 27 May 1988]: The figures in the following table have been derived from the United Kingdom national accounts prepared by the Central Statistical Office and show the percentage of GDP spent (a) on health services and (b) on private sector residential and nursing homes in the period 1980 to 1986. For the latter series it has not been possible to separate expenditure on nursing home care from that on residential homes.
Percentage of GDP spent on health services by sector and on private sector residential and nursing homes Year Health Services Private sector residential and nursing homes1 Public Private Total 1980 5.2 0.6 5.8 0.1 1981 5.4 0.6 6.0 0.1 1982 5.2 0.7 5.9 0.1 1983 5.4 0.7 6.1 0.2 1984 5.4 0.8 6.2 0.3 1985 5.2 0.8 6.0 0.3 1986 5.3 0.8 6.1 0.4 1 Figures in this column show the estimated annual total of public and private expenditure on such homes. Because these estimates are based on a series of assumptions regarding the proportion of residents in such homes receiving supplementary benefits, attempts to further disaggregate the total expenditure figures would result in spurious accuracy.