§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many claims were processed by the Redundancy Payments Service in 1992–93 and 1993–94; what were the costs of meeting payments shortfalls under the Employment Protection Act 1978 when enterprises were insolvent; and what sums were recovered in 1992–93 and 1993–94.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe number of claims processed by the Redundancy Payments Service in 1992–93 was 301,913 and in 1993–94, 242,332.
The Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 provides for various payments out of the national insurance fund when an employer is unable to make them by reason of insolvency. Payments made and sums recovered in 1992–93 and 1993–94 were as follows:
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£ million 1992–93 1993–94 Payments To employers in respect of arrears of pay, holiday pay, compensation for pay in lieu of notice and certain other payments 154.9 129.7 To occupational pension schemes in respect of unpaid contributions 4.7 7.2 TOTAL PAYMENTS 159.6 136.9 Debt recovery Recovery of debts in insolvency 18.7 16.8 Note: Because of the delay between the making of payments and the eventual settlement fo claims in the insolvency, the sums recovered do not correspond directly to the year in which payments were made. The figures for payments and recoveries for 1993–94 are, at this stage, provisional.