§ Mr. Formanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer loses in direct and indirect taxation, and national insurance contributions, together with the payment of unemployment and related benefits, when (a) 500,000, (b) 1,000,000, (c) 1,500,000 and (d) 2,000,000 people are unemployed, assuming that they were previously employed on average industrial earnings.
§ Mr. BiffenI regret that I am unable to provide my hon. Friend with the information he requests. The effects of varying levels of unemployment on Government revenue, taxation and the national insurance fund depend on the composition of the unemployed and their individual circumstances. All such calculations require a detailed simulation on a complex economic model. For the reasons given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State in his reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Leighton) on 14 November 1979—[Vol. 973, c. 622–23]—this could only be done in answer to the question at disproportionate cost.