Special Health Authorities (Hansard, 30 January 1992)

§ Mr. Robin Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's annual expenditure on special health authorities.

§ Mr. Dorrell
[holding answer 14 January 1992]Resources made available to special health authorities 669W during 1990–91 and included in the Department's appropriation account for that year amounted to some£623 million.

§ Mr. Robin Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the expenditure by his Department on the general practitioner fundholding scheme.

§ Mr. Dorrell
[pursuant to his answer 24 January 1992, Official Report, column 398]I regret that an incorrect figure was given for the total allocated to GP fundholders to purchase health care. GP fundholders are managing a total budget of £401,400,000 in 1991–92.

(£ billion)

Employee contribution rate First year Full year

Employee¹ Employer¹ Total Employee¹ Employer² Total

(a) Lower earnings limit—£100

9 per cent. -1.0 -1.1 -2.1 -1.1 -1.3 -2.4

10 per cent. +0.4 -1.1 -0.7 +0.5 -1.3 -0.8

(b) Lower earnings limit—£120

9 per cent. -2.3 -1.7 -4.0 -2.6 -1.9 -4.5

10 per cent. -0.9 -1.7 -2.6 -1.1 -1.9 -3.0

¹ Employee contributions—assumes that contributions are deducted at 2 per cent. On earnings up to the lower earnings limit and that there is no upper earnings limit.

² Employer contributions—assumes that the existing structure of rates and earnings brackets applies above the appropriate lower earnings limit.

§ Mr. Allen
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the weekly cost would he to someone on one and a half times male average earnings of the abolition of the national insurance upper earnings limit.

§ Mr. Jack
Someone earning £490 a week, which is about one and a half times average male earnings, would pay an extra £9 per week in national insurance contributions in 1991–92 if the upper earnings limit was abolished.

§ Mr. Allen
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated annual cost to employers of abolishing the lower earnings limit for employees' national insurance contributions.

§ Mr. Jack
If the lower earnings limit were abolished in respect of just the employees' share of contributions, the additional cost for employers would be in administration. There are no readily available estimates of these costs. The businesses which would be affected most are likely to he those whose workforce is made up of a large proportion of, or wholly, part-time employees; for example hotels, newsagent and cleaning contractors. These types of employers would have to set up or expand their existing systems of collecting, recording and subsequently paying over contributions. Moreover, there would be pressure on employers to increase pay, so that the employee's net earnings remained the same once they had paid their contributions.
However, if the employers' lower earnings limit were also abolished, we estimate that it would cost business about £175 million a year in extra national insurance contributions.

(£ billion)
Employee contribution rate		First year			Full year
	Employee¹	Employer¹	Total	Employee¹	Employer²	Total
(a) Lower earnings limit—£100
9 per cent.	-1.0	-1.1	-2.1	-1.1	-1.3	-2.4
10 per cent.	+0.4	-1.1	-0.7	+0.5	-1.3	-0.8
(b) Lower earnings limit—£120
9 per cent.	-2.3	-1.7	-4.0	-2.6	-1.9	-4.5
10 per cent.	-0.9	-1.7	-2.6	-1.1	-1.9	-3.0
¹ Employee contributions—assumes that contributions are deducted at 2 per cent. On earnings up to the lower earnings limit and that there is no upper earnings limit.
² Employer contributions—assumes that the existing structure of rates and earnings brackets applies above the appropriate lower earnings limit.