HC Deb 22 July 1968 vol 769 cc10-1W
54 and 55. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Minister of Social Security (1) how many ex-public school boys have been prosecuted in each of the last five years for abusing payment of social security benefits; and what was this figure as a proportion of total prosecutions;

(2) if she will give a breakdown of the 451 men prosecuted in the last three years for remaining deliberately unemployed when they could have obtained work; in particular identifying such men by region and stating whether educated at a private, fee-paying school.

Mrs. Hart

Prosecutions of unemployed persons for failure to maintain themselves or their dependants in the three years 1965–67 were distributed by region as follows:

Region
Northern 29
Yorkshire and Humberside 39
East Midlands and East Anglia 66
London (three regions) 101
South Western 9
West Midlands 44
North Western 76
Wales 14
Scotland 35
Vagrants (not included above) 38
Total 451

Our records do not show the schools attended by the people prosecuted.