Written question asked by Lord Flight (Conservative) on Monday, 3 December 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 25 February 2002. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Monday, 25 February 2002 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his latest assessment is of the average (a) private, (b) public and (c) total spending on health in EU member states expressed as a percentage of GDP; and what he expects those figures to be in 2004-05. - Inc table.

Answer: Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest assessment is of the average (a) private, (b) public and (c) total spending on health in EU member states expressed as a percentage of GDP; and what he expects those figures to be in 2004-05. [21058] Mr. Hutton: The latest figures for the European Union member states are as follows: Average health care expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Expenditure 1998 Private 2.0 Public 5.9 Total 7.9 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Source: OECD data 2001 There are no projections for changes in the balance between public and private health care spending. There is no evidence to suggest that in 2004-05 the average total health spending as a percentage of gross domestic product will be any different to current levels.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 21058; 380 c939W;380 c941W
Session: 2001-02
Subjects: EU countries Health services Expenditure Private sector Public sector Public expenditure
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk