§ Mr. Barnettasked the Minister of Social Security how many employees a firm must have before it is permitted to pay by cheque for the purchase of National Insurance stamps; how many firms at present pay by cheque; and if she will take steps to ensure that firms paying by cash are made aware of the alternative method of payment.
§ Miss HerbisonIrrespective of size, a firm can pay by cheque if authorised to use a machine for impressing stamps on 125W insurance cards. Employers with at least 100 employees may apply to pay contributions direct to the Ministry without using stamps at all.
On 29th November, 1966 nearly 6,000 employers were using impressed stamping for nearly 3 million employees and just over 6,000 employers were paying contributions direct to the Ministry for over 8 million employees.
Since introduction of the Selective Employment Tax there has been a sharp rise in applications to use these facilities about which descriptive leaflets are available at my Ministry's local offices; I have no additional publicity in mind at present.