§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what changes she plans to make in the method of collecting data for the statistical series at present produced by her Department to take account of the Government's proposals for earnings-related social security; and what estimate she has made of the change in cost.
§ Mr. HattersleyThe White Paper Cmnd. 3883 envisages that National Insurance cards should be withdrawn. A new method of compiling employment statistics, probably by means of a simple return from all employers, would then be introduced. Plans are currently under consideration and tests on the most suitable methods will be carried out in the next two years.
The change-over to a new system would lead to additional initial costs but thereafter the costs for the new system are not expected to differ much from those for existing procedures.