§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate what proportion of an employee's contribution to the National Insurance Fund is set aside for unemployment purposes; and if he will consider a refund, based on this calculation, for the contributions of occupational pensioners earning more than £30 a week, in view of his proposal that such pensioners shall not be entitled to unemployment benefit.
§ Mr. OrmeThe National Insurance Scheme is based on the pooling of risks and it is not the practice to allocate any particular proportion of contribution rates to particular short-term benefits. It would not in any event be appropriate to make refunds to the pensioners concerned who would have been covered against the possibility of unemployment during the whole of their employed working lives prior to retiring from their jobs.