HC Deb 23 November 1992 vol 214 cc489-90W
Mr. Betts

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the public expenditure total has been spent on benefits related to unemployment for each financial year from 1979–80; and what is the latest estimate for 1992–93 and the expenditure forecast for 1993–94.

at a crucial time, one of the required signatories was not available for unforeseeable reasons (eg because of serious illness); or the agent of a signatory was similarly not available and there was no one else who could reasonably be expected to stand in the agent's shoes: or

there was some other difficulty about obtaining all the required signatures to the election within the time limit, and the Inland Revenue had, before the time limit expired, both been clearly notified that each of the signatories had individually decided to make an election; and been given the reasons why the election could not be made within the time limit.

The board will not admit elections if they were made after the expiry of the time limit because of oversight or negligence on the part of a partner or his or her agent; or because one of the parties to the election temporarily refused to sign it; or because there was a deliberate decision to delay the making of the election because its effect on the taxation liabilities of the relevant parties was not clear by the time the time limit expired.