§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish his estimates of the various categories of persons included in the total of registered unemployed who do not receive any unemployment or supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. DeakinsOn 7th February 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, 207,000 registered unemployed persons were in receipt of neither unemployment benefit nor supplementary benefit. Of these, 56,000 had exhausted their flat-rate unemployment benefit; 81,000 were awaiting a decision on a claim for unemployment benefit; and 70,000 were not receiving any benefit for other reasons.
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§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated cost of paying flat-rate national insurance benefit to the unemployed for the entire duration of unemployment.
§ Mr. DeakinsIt is estimated that, if payment of flat-rate unemployment benefit did not cease after 12 months, the extra cost of unemployment benefit in 1976–77 would have been about £230 million. The net additional public expenditure after taking into account offsetting savings in supplementary benefit would have been of the order of £80 million.
§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many men and women, respectively, in the Bournemouth employment exchange area have exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefit; and what percentages these represent of the total number of unemployed males and females.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe information, which relates to those registered as unemployed on 7th February 1977 in the area covered by the Bournemouth unemployment benefit office, is as follows:
ENTITLEMENT TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT EXHAUSTED Number Percentage total registered unemployed Males 530 13.7 Females 70 6.3 Total 600 12.0