§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Minister of Social Security (1) what is the total cost to the National Insurance Fund in a full year, of the current rates of benefit paid to all employees and those who have retired from employment; and what percentage this is of the current payrolls of all employers;
(2) what is the total cost of the National Insurance Fund in a full year, of the current rate of benefit paid to all self-employed persons, and those who have 209W retired from self-employment; and what percentage this is of the total current incomes of all self-employed persons.
§ Mrs. HartThe total cost of National Insurance benefits is now running at rather more than £2,000 million a year, which is estimated to be nearly 10 per cent. of the total of earnings from employment and incomes from self-employment. It is not possible to apportion the total cost of National Insurance benefits by reference to insurance category at a particular time.