§ 18. Mr. Houghtonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many certificates have so far been granted by the Registrar of Non-participating Employments; and how many employees they cover.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI am informed that the Registrar has so far issued 35 certificates covering approximately 3,400 employees.
§ Mr. HoughtonIs not this figure very small indeed having regard to the fact that the date of commencement of the new scheme is as near as April next? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that anxieties have been expressed in different quarters at the delay on the part of employers in putting in their applications for exemption from the new scheme to the Registrar? Has the right hon. Gentleman any disquiet about this? Can he inform the House whether things are going according to plan, and can he say whether we are likely to have a serious congestion of applications just before the commencement of the scheme?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterAs the hon. Gentleman is aware, the actual issue of a certificate following application is the last stage of the process. The procedure—with which the hon. Member is familiar in another connection—of informal consultation with the Registrar prior to the submission of the formal application is working out, and up to last Friday informal consultation had taken place in respect of 1,447 schemes.
§ Mr. EdenHas my right hon. Friend any reason to vary his original estimate of 2½ million persons ultimately being in non-participating employment? In the light of experience so far of this scheme, can my right hon. Friend say whether he proposes to take any steps to simplify the extremely complex procedure involved in obtaining a certificate for contracting out?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI have no reason to modify the estimate given in the White Paper "Provision for Old Age". As to the procedure, bearing in mind that inevitably it cannot be simple if it is to be fair, I do not think it is working too badly, and I think that employers are understanding it.