§ Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest estimate of the average annual cost in terms of public expenditure of a man with a wife and two children dependent upon him, who becomes unemployed, taking into account his entitlement to unemployment and social security benefits, loss of tax revenue, national insurance contributions and additional payments in respect of welfare services, redundancy payments and other costs to the Exchequer.
§ Mr. BrittanI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. Wigley) on 9 December which gives estimates of the financial cost to the Government of a married man with two children who becomes unemployed for the period December 1979 to November 1980.—[Vol. 995, c. 589–94.] Rebates to employers from the redundancy fund, which were not included in these calculations, were on average some £400 per employee in 1980.