§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the size of the Treasury grant to the national insurance fund in 1993–94 and 1994–95; what estimate he has made for grants in each of the next three years; and to what extent these grants are to cover the subsidy being paid to state earnings-related pension scheme contributors transferring into private pension schemes.
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe Treasury grant to the national insurance fund was £7,589 million in 1993–94 and £6,280 million in 1994–95. For 1995–96 the percentage grant now set by order will amount to a maximum of £4,075 million. The level of Treasury grant for future years will be set at the appropriate time and will depend on the estimated income and outgo of the fund then. Estimates are not therefore available for later years, but working assumptions suggest that the grant could fall to £2.3 billion by 1997–98.
The Treasury grant is a general contribution to the national insurance fund and is not attributed to any particular aspect of the fund's expenditure, of which the rebates to providers of approved personal pension is just one.