Public expenditure on health and personal social Services 2007 : Memorandum received from the Department of Health containing replies to a written questionnaire from the Committee, written Evidence

This memorandum contains the replies received from the Department of Health to a series of questions tabled by the Select Committee, on a wide range of issues grouped under the headings of: expenditure; investment, including the private finance initiative (PFI); NHS Plan and reforms, including staffing, pay and contracts, treatment outside the NHS, and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); breakdown of spending programme; activity, performance and efficiency; and departmental annual report.

This memorandum contains the replies received from the Department of Health to a series of questions tabled by the Select Committee, on a wide range of issues grouped under the headings of: current issues including NHS staffing; salaries and wages of non-NHS staff; retirement projections, dental and medical staff payscales; also included are; general expenditure issues; NHS resources and activity; personal social services resources and activity; capital expenditure and investment and questions on the departmental annual report

Dated May 2007. On cover: Departmental report. The health and personal social services programmes

Incorporating HC 1021-i to iii, session 2008-09

Work of the Committee 2007 : Second report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

In the last financial year the Department of Health made financial recovery priority and managed to turn the deficits of 2005-06 to a surplus of £505 million in 2006-07. The Comptroller and Auditor General is the statutory auditor of the financial accounts of the NHS and has the duty to certify and report to Parliament on them. This report is published alongside in the NHS Summarised Accounts to provide more detail on the financial performance of the NHS, how it moved into balance and the challenges that face it in the future.

With new devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this book provides a study of developments in the major areas of social policy and a full comparison between the four UK nations.

The financial crisis of 2008 led the United Kingdom's Labour Government to make changes--primarily cuts--to social programs and a wide range of social services. The subsequent Coalition Government followed those changes with much more dramatic cuts. This book offers the first in-depth empirical analysis of the two governments and their approach to social policy in a period of crisis, assessing policy aims, policy implementation, and measurable outcomes.