§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he expects to meet his target of raising the share of national income spent on health in England to the average level of the other countries in the European Union; what his estimate is of the current gap between these two figures; and if he will make a statement. [10628]
§ Mr. HuttonWe aim to increase total health expenditure in the United Kingdom up to the average of the countries of the European Union, which is around eight per cent. of gross domestic product. By the end of the present spending review period (2003–04), we expect that total UK expenditure on health will have reached 7.7 per cent. of gross domestic product. Spending beyond this period will be decided in future spending reviews.
562WThe figures are provided for the UK rather than England, because this is the level at which there are the most reliable figures for gross domestic product and figures for private health expenditure.