§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will revise the regulations relating to earnings-related supplement to unemployment benefit so that they are in future calculated on the earnings in the tax year immediately preceding the date unemployment commences, and not on the year before that.
§ Mr. O'MalleyEarnings-related supplements to unemployment benefit are calculated on earnings in the tax year immediately preceding the calendar year in which unemployment started, and thus the situation which my hon. Friend wishes to see already obtains between January and April. Records of earnings could not, however, be compiled quickly enough to enable his suggestion to be implemented for the remainder of the calendar year.