“We spend a smaller percentage of our GDP on our NHS than do France and Germany...”
Julia Hartley Brewer, 23 September 2016
“We are planning to spend a reducing percentage of our national income on health, at a time where demand is rising rapidly”
Norman Lamb MP, 23 September 2016
It’s correct that the UK spends less on public healthcare as a proportion of GDP than in France or Germany.
In 2015, almost 8% of UK GDP was public spending on health. France’ healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP was just under 9%, and Germany’s was just over. If you add in private healthcare, just under 10% of UK GDP was spending on health, compared to about 11% of France and Germany’s GDP.
And Norman Lamb is also correct that UK spending on health as a proportion of GDP is set to decrease in the future.
Public spending on the NHS across the UK is projected to go from 7.3% of GDP in 2015/16 to to 6.7% of GDP by the end of this parliament.
That’s not because public spending on healthcare is falling, but because it’s predicted that other parts of GDP will grow faster.