§ 2.52 p.m.
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many university and college students claimed unemployment benefit in the summer vacation last year, and what was the total amount paid out to them.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I regret that I cannot be very helpful to the noble Lord because the information requested by him is not available. A separate record is not kept of the claims to unemployment benefit made by university and college students, nor of the amounts of benefit paid to them.
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his reply. I wonder whether he could confirm that the number of registered students receiving unemployment benefit reached 127,000 last January before being excluded from the register in the spring? Furthermore, since the Government have made an announcement on the subject since I put down this Question, may I ask whether the payment of tuition fees by the Government will mean that students will receive more maintenance money? Could the noble Lord also say what the effect of that will be on public expenditure ?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, in reply to the first part of the noble Lord's question, roughly 127,000 students were registered for unemployment at Christmas 1975. It does not follow that they all applied for unemployment benefit; many of them would not have been entitled to it. On the other hand, the majority, if not in receipt of unemployment benefit, would no doubt be in receipt of supplementary benefit. I think the nearest I can say is that it is estimated that something over 10 per cent. of students at present qualify for unemployment benefit at some time during their vacation. This could mean that the bulk of the remainder are entitled to supplementary benefit, but that many of them do not apply for it.
With regard to the second part of the noble Lord's question, the only comment I can make, because it is the only one which is within my own knowledge, is that the Government have devised a perhaps more simple way of paying unemployment benefit to those students who are entitled to it. So far as supplementary benefit is concerned, for the year 1976-77 we shall be able to take into account what local authorities give towards maintenance during Easter and Christmas so that it will be counted in for that purpose, which means that the bulk of students living at home will not be entitled to supplementary benefit for those periods. 1232 It will mean that all students who are unable to get work during the long vacation will be entitled to the supplementary allowance.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, could the noble Lord say what proportion of students are on supplementary benefit, since he mentioned that 10 per cent. are claiming unemployment benefit?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLNo, my Lords, I am afraid that I can say only that we estimate that about 10 per cent. of students are in receipt of unemployment benefit. How many of the 90 per cent. receive supplementary benefit or no benefit at all because they are not applying for it I cannot say and, as the noble Earl and the House will know, it would be rather costly to try to keep statistics on every matter.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, would the noble Lord agree that in a time of economic stringency it might be very much to the benefit of students that they should be encouraged to get whatever work they can, no matter how menial, and that this may he a character forming exercise which students are well in need of?
§ Lord ROCHESTERMy Lords, does not the large number of students who claimed unemployment benefit during last year's summer vacation, and the even larger number who will be claiming it this year, show above all the urgency of the need to reduce inflation and, in that way, unemployment, particularly among young people, which is its inevitable consequence?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I agree with what the noble Lord has said.