§ Mr.Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report, for each year since 1978, estimates of the numbers of wage earners who fall below the lower limit for national insurance contributions; whether he will indicate how many of these are full-time, part-time, men and women; and, as far as possible, if he will estimate how many are (a) under 18 years and (b) under 20 years.
§ Mr.Alan ClarkPrecise information is not available. However, the evidence from the new earnings survey and other data suggests that in April 1983 about 500,000 male employees and 1.75 million female employees had gross weekly earnings below the lower limit for national insurance purposes and that these were virtually all in part-time employment. The evidence does not suggest significant changes since 1978.