§ Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLEasked the Minister of Labour for what period unemployment insurance benefit could he given at existing rates so as to enable expenditure to balance income from contributions made by employers and em- 1183W ployés, only assuming the present number of unemployed for purposes of calculation?
§ Sir H. BETTERTONThe annual rate of expenditure on insurance benefit at present is £57,500,000. Administrative expenses and interest on debt amount to a further £9,500,000 making a total of £67,000,000. The contributions of employers and employed persons are about £38,500,000. It is not possible, without a detailed and expensive investigation, to estimate the precise extent by which the present maximum of 26 weeks of insurance benefit in a benefit year would have to be reduced, if the last mentioned sum were the whole revenue. It is obvious, however, that this reduction would have to be in a much greater ratio than in the proportion of 57½ or 67 to 38½. This is because many more spells of unemployment are for short periods than for long periods. Thus, for example, to reduce the maximum weeks of benefit by one-half, would reduce the amount of benefit payable not by one-half, but by a much smaller proportion.