HC Deb 16 December 1994 vol 251 cc833-4W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the administrative costs incurred by(a) NHS purchasers and (b) NHS providers in each region in each year since 1990–91.

Mr. Malone

[holding answer 12 December 1994]: The available information is shown in the table.

National Health Service administration costs 1990–91 to 1993–94 by region
Region 1990–91£000 1991–92£000 1992–93£000 1993–94£000
Northern 55,616 50,937 59,823 76,960
Yorkshire 68,132 92,103 81,582 93,049
Trent 63,721 59,074 73,182 94,392
East Anglian 35,794 29,092 33,480 33,480
North West Thames 69,479 54,863 72,817 100,782
North East Thames 77,782 80,638 74,529 105,158
South East Thames 79,057 53,584 61,593 65,095
South West Thames 58,615 46,714 56,592 66,940
Wessex 48,991 57,543 64,525 76,559
Oxford 38,008 50,786 58,273 76,138
South
Western 52,174 36,372 41,372 51,171
West
Midlands 91,970 66,079 82,139 88,757
Mersey 37,847 47,844 58,136 46,341
North
Western 77,384 49,775 58,574 70,262

Source:

Annual accounts of Regional and District Health Authorities, Family Practitioner Committees and Family Health Services Authorities.

Notes:

1. The above figures represent the total revenue expenditure on the pay and accommodation costs of staff of all disciplines and their support staff employed at headquarters levels in Regional Health Authorities (RHAs), District Health Authorities (DHAs) and Family Practitioner Committees (FPCs)/Family Health Services Authorities (FHSAs). They exclude administrative support in hospital departments and at other local levels which is regarded as operational expenditure.

2. RHA and DHA costs are those reported in the accounts as "Authority administration and purchasing expenses". This includes capital charges after 1991–92. FPC/FHSA administration costs are those reported in the annual accounts as revenue administration costs and represent that part of total expenditure which is not medical, dental, ophthalmic or pharmaceutical.

3. Changes over the years in the roles and responsibilities of FPCs (which became Family Health Services Authorities in 1990), RHAs and DHAs (which started to transfer provider functions to NHS trusts in 1991–1992), together with changes in accounting policies (particularly the inclusion of capital charges in Health Authorities' administration and purchasing expenditure) mean that the figures are not comparable. Additionally, there were differences in management practices and geographical size between regions and the numbers of DHAs, FPCs and FHSAs within regions.

4. The figures for 1993–94 are provisional.