15. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the economy of expenditure on health care. (191857)

Health care investment supports the health of the working population and so UK productivity. The NHS’s £11 billion spend on drugs also supports an innovative pharmaceutical sector. Recognising the importance of health care to the economy, Dame Carol Black will this year publish the first ever review into the health of Britain’s working age population. This will look at what more the NHS, working with employers, can do to improve productivity in the wider economy.