§ 78. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give for the latest and most convenient stated date the total annual or weekly costs in all forms of unemployment and social security benefits including supplementaries; and if, as a means of reducing these amounts and assisting in reducing unemployment figures, he will reduce the retirement age by five years on a voluntary basis and increase all retirement pensions by £1 per week.
§ Mr. DeanDuring December, 1971, the weekly cost of unemployment benefit and supplementary benefit paid to people registering for work was about £7.9 million. For the reasons given in my letter to the hon. Member of 25th October, 1971, the changes he suggests would be very costly and of doubtful effectiveness in reducing unemployment. It is not proposed therefore to adopt them.