§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what figure he uses as the EU average expenditure on health to form the basis of his target of meeting this figure in the UK; and by when he expects to achieve that target. [7792]
§ Mr. HuttonWe aim to increase health expenditure in the United Kingdom up to the average of the countries of the European Union, which is around 8 per cent. of gross domestic product. By the end of the present spending review period (2003–04), we expect that total United Kingdom expenditure on health will have reached 7.7 per cent. of gross domestic product. Public sector spending beyond this period will be decided in future spending reviews.