§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of claimants drawing (a) flat-rate national insurance and (b) earnings-related unemployment benefit for each year since 1948; and if he will list those 115W totals as a percentage of the registered unemployed.
NUMBER OF CLAIMANTS RECEIVING (i) FLAT-RATE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT WITH OR WITHOUT EARNINGS RELATED SUPPLEMENT* AND (ii) FLAT-RATE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT WITH EARNINGS-RELATED SUPPLEMENT (ERS)†—GREAT BRITAIN Estimated numbers of claimants in thousands Estimated numbers of claimants as a percentage of the registered unemployed Year (November) Receiving flat-rate unemployment benefit with or without ERS Receiving flat-rate unemployment benefit with ERS Receiving flat-rate unemployment benefit with or without ERS Receiving flat-rate unemployment benefit with ERS 1948 … … 255 — 78 — 1949 … … 247 — 76 — 1950 … … 212 — 70 — 1951 … … 199 — 69 — 1952 … … 292 — 72 — 1953 … … 206 — 64 — 1954 … … 150 — 57 — 1955 … … 124 — 55 — 1956 … … 155 — 58 — 1957 … … 188 — 59 — 1958 … … 334 — 63 — 1959 … … 241 — 56 — 1960 … … 178 — 51 — 1961 … … 202 — 53 — 1962 … … 314 — 58 — 1963 … … 254 — 53 — 1964 … … 172 — 49 — 1965 … … 166 — 51 — 1966 … … 275 58 57 12 1967 … … 318 95 56 17 1968 … … 294 97 53 18 1969 … … 279 92 50 17 1970 … … 302 104 51 17 1971 … … 459 164 53 19 1972 … … 352 124 45 16 1973 … … 197 78 39 15 1974 … … 275 106 44 17 1975 … … 525 235 49 22 1976 (May) … 587 245 49 20 1977 … … 561 238 42 18 1978 (May) … 526 204 41 16 * Taken from a 100 per cent. count on a day in November each year except 1976 and 1978 when the figures given refer to May (no count was made in November 1976 because of industrial action and the figures for 1978 are not yet available). † Earnings-related supplement was introduced in October 1966. Estimates of ERS are derived from a 5 per cent. sample count made on the same day as the 100 per cent. count referred to above.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the size of the increase in benefits necessary to compensate (a) single persons, (b) married couples and (c) claimants with one, two, three and four children, drawing each of the main social security benefits, for price rises resulting in financing each one penny reduction in the standard rate by increasing value added tax.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that this information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.