§ 1. Mr. COCKSasked the Minister of Labour whether she can estimate what would be the income of the Unemployment Insurance Fund if there were brought into the scheme everyone normally employed in some occupation whose earnings do not exceed £500 a year?
§ The MINISTER of LABOUR (Miss Bondfield)The total number of persons employed is estimated to be in the neighbourhood of 18,000,000. If they all paid Unemployment Insurance contributions at current rates, the gross income of the Unemployment Fund from contributions, which is now about £45 millions per annum, would be increased by about 50 per cent.