§ Mrs. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will change the situation whereby people claiming unemployment or sickness benefit in the last week of December 1976 had their claims decided by reference to a contribution year commencing 32 months earlier, in April 1974; and whether he 710W will bring contribution years and benefit years closer together so that entitlements will relate more closely to the recent work history and wage levels of the claimants.
§ Mr. Orme:No. Under the revised national insurance scheme introduced in April 1975 there is now a single contribution year and a single benefit year common to all contributors. Under the new arrangements, the benefit year begins in the first week in January and the relevant contributions—or reckonable weekly earnings in the case of the earnings-related supplement—are those in the last complete income tax year (April to April) before the benefit year in which the current period of interruption of employment begins. This minimum nine month gap between the end of the contribution period and the start of the benefit year is needed to give the Department time to take on to computer records the details of earnings and contributions contained in millions of documents received from employers via the Inland Revenue. I have no proposals for changing these arrangements.