asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish figures, for the latest available year, to show the percentage of overall National Health Service resources in Scotland devoted to the administration of the National Health Service centrally, and by area health boards and local health councils.
Administration costs incurred by the Scottish Home and Health Department, health boards and the local health councils represented 4·32 per cent. of the total NHS resources in Scotland in 1978–79. In addition the administration costs of the Common Services Agency represented a further 0·08 per cent.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing, for each of the last five years, the receipts of the National Health Service in Scotland from prescription charges, dental charges and ophthalmic charges, and the percentage contribution which those changes made to the financing of the National Health Service there.
The information for the financial years 1974–75 to 1978–79 is set out in the table below.
| 1974–75 | ||
| Nature of receipts | Amount £'000 | Per cent. |
| Prescription charges* | 2,636 | 0·58 |
| Dental charges† | 2,700 | 0·59 |
| Optical charges | 1,709 | 0·38 |
| Total | 7,045 | 1·55 |
| Total Gross NHS expenditure in Scotland | 455,142 | 100·00 |
| 1975–76 | ||
| Nature of receipts | Amount £'000 | per cent |
| Prescription charges* | 2,572 | 0·43 |
| Dental charges† | 3,255 | 0·54 |
| Optical charges | 1,951 | 0·32 |
| Total | 7,778 | 1·29 |
| Total Gross NHS expenditure in Scotland | 600,878 | 100·00 |
| 1976–77 | ||
| Nature of receipts | Amount £000 | Per cent |
| Prescription charges* | 2,704 | 0·40 |
| Dental charges† | 4,079 | 0·60 |
| Optical charges | 2,080 | 0·31 |
| Total | 8,863 | 1·31 |
| Total Gross NHS expenditure in Scotland | 679,414 | 100·00 |
| 1977–78 | ||
| Nature of receipts | Amount £'000 | per cent |
| Prescription charges* | 2,662 | 0·35 |
| Dental charges† | 4,835 | 0·63 |
| Optical charges | 2,231 | 0·29 |
| Total | 9,728 | 1·27 |
| Total Gross NHS expenditure in Scotland | 768,789 | 100·00 |
| 1978–79 | ||
| Nature of receipts | Amount £000 | per cent. |
| Prescription charges* | 2,775 | 0·32 |
| Dental charges† | 4,670 | 0·53 |
| Optical charges | 2,405 | 0·27 |
| Total | 9,850 | 1·12 |
| Total Gross NHS expenditure in Scotland | 878,905 | 100·00 |
| Notes: | ||
| * Includes charges received from the sale of pre-payment certificates, charges collected by dispensing doctors and at health centres together with amounts recovered direct from patients. | ||
| † Includes charges collected at health centres together with amounts received direct from patients. | ||