§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total increase in spending by the national health service in Wales in each year since 1979 after adjustment for the health costs deflator.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettIn order to show the dramatic difference between the funding of the NHS under a Labour Government and under this administration I have taken the opportunity to provide the information requested by the hon. Gentleman for each year since 1974. He will note the marked improvement under this Government compared with the period 1974–79.
138W
Year NHS gross expenditure adjusted for changes in input unit costs1 NHS gross expenditure adjusted by the GDP deflator £ million £ million (1990–91 prices) (1991–92 prices) 1974–75 1,106 1,024 1975–76 1,153 1,095 1976–77 1,146 1,084 1977–78 1,189 1,077 1978–79 1,235 1,115 1979–80 1,204 1,118 1980–81 1,223 1,216 1981–82 1,284 1,263
Year NHS gross expenditure adjusted for changes in input unit costs1 NHS gross expenditure adjusted by the GDP deflator £ million £ million (1990–91 prices) (1991–92 prices) 1982–83 1,330 1,301 1983–84 1,346 1,320 1984–85 1,371 1,360 1985–86 1,390 1,375 1986–87 1,407 1,432 1987–88 1,446 1,506 1988–89 1,471 1,571 1989–90 1,489 1,598 1990–91 1,544 1,652 1991–92 2— 31,781 Notes:
1 Calculated against service inflation reflecting pay and price movements in English authorities.
2 Index for 1991–92 is not available as estimates are not made until after the financial year has ended.
3 Current provision.
Changes in input volumes are an inadequate guide to the level of services the NHS can be expected to achieve since they do not reflect the continuing success of NHS management in increasing the efficiency with which it uses resources.
The final column therefore gives expenditure in real terms after adjustment by the GDP deflator.