Benefits (Hansard, 14 May 1984)

§ Mr. Ralph Howell
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of people who have been refused unemployment or supplementary benefit for failing to take up suitable employment for each year since 1973 in the United Kingdom.

§ Dr. Boyson
Under section 20(1)(b) and (c) of the Social Security Act 1975 a person is disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit if, without good cause, he either refuses or neglects to avail himself of suitable employment. The number of disqualifications for these reasons since 1973 is shown in the table.
Although supplementary benefit may be withheld if a claimant refuses suitable employment and if the situation is still vacant or open to application, such cases are rare, and no statistics are available about the number of cases in which this happens. However, a voluntary unemployment deduction is applied to a supplementary allowance when a person has been disqualified, or would be disqualified, for receiving unemployment benefit under section 20(1) of the Social Security Act. This may be for other reasons than refusal of employment—for example, because of leaving work voluntarily without just cause
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the United Kingdom in receipt of (a) retirement pension only, (b) supplementary pension only, (c) retirement pension and supplementary pension, (d) all public sector pension schemes and (e) retirement pension and a public sector pension, for each year since 1973–74.

§ Dr. Boyson
The available information is given in the following table:
—but the available statistics do not permit the precise reason for deductions to be identified. The table therefore shows all cases with such deductions.

United Kingdom Refusal of Unemployment Benefit^* Reductions of Supplementary Benefit^†

1973 15,750 180,000

1974 10,791 290,000

1975 5,114 340,000

1976^‡ 3,877 Not available

1977 5,789 380,000

1978 4,921 350,000

1979 7,774 370,000

1980 8,963 270,000

1981 4,916 190,000

1982 2,774 190,000

1983 1,896 Not available

^* The figures for refusals of unemployment benefit are for Great Britain up to 1980 and for the United Kingdom from 1981; the information for Northern Ireland is not available for earlier years.

^† The supplementary benefit figures have been estimated from information in the annual special inquiry, on the assumption that deductions apply for, on average, four weeks.

^‡ Unemployment benefit figures for 1976 are incomplete as not all offices completed returns that year.

United Kingdom	Refusal of Unemployment Benefit^*	Reductions of Supplementary Benefit^†
1973	15,750	180,000
1974	10,791	290,000
1975	5,114	340,000
1976^‡	3,877	Not available
1977	5,789	380,000
1978	4,921	350,000
1979	7,774	370,000
1980	8,963	270,000
1981	4,916	190,000
1982	2,774	190,000
1983	1,896	Not available
^* The figures for refusals of unemployment benefit are for Great Britain up to 1980 and for the United Kingdom from 1981; the information for Northern Ireland is not available for earlier years.
^† The supplementary benefit figures have been estimated from information in the annual special inquiry, on the assumption that deductions apply for, on average, four weeks.
^‡ Unemployment benefit figures for 1976 are incomplete as not all offices completed returns that year.