§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest information on the number of people who pay national insurance contributions at the contracted-out rate in Northern Ireland; and of these how many earn above(a) £15,000, (b) £20,000, (c) £25,000, (d) £30,000 and (e) £40,000 respectively.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information is not available in the precise form requested. However, figures for the number of employed earners who paid national insurance at the contracted-out standard rate in 1989–90, the latest year for which provisional information is available, and for the number of them who earned above that year's upper earnings limit for national insurance purposes are given in the table.
Total above With earnings the UEL(£16,900) Paying at the standard contracted-out rate 219,000 24,600 Paying a mixture of contracted out and not contracted-out rates 30,100 1,600 Total with some contracted-out contributions 249,100 26,200