§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was, for each year since 1960, the percentage of expenditure on national insurance benefits met by national insurance contributions including payments in lieu of contributions.
§ Mr. MeacherThe income to the National Insurance Funds in respect of Great Britain has throughout consisted of contributions, Exchequer Supplement
Year Yield of National Insurance and Industrial Injuries contributions (including payments in lieu) Cost of National Insurance and Industrial Injuries benefits Contribution receipts as a percentage of benefit outgo (1) (2) (3) (4) £ million £ million Per cent. 1960–61 … … 778 984 79 1961–62 … … 972 1,144 85 1962–63 … … 1,009 1,209 83 1963–64 … … 1,172 1,423 82 1964–65 … … 1,266 1,485 85 1965–66 … … 1,552 1,809 86 1966–67 … … 1,599 1,891 85 1967–68 … … 1,740 2,123 82 1968–69 … … 1,923 2,322 83 1969–70 … … 2,044 2,458 83 1970–71 … … 2,339 2,636 89 1971–72 … … 2,642 3,068 86 1972–73 … … 3,139 3,470 90 1973–74 … … 3,741 3,998 94 1974–75 … … 5,023 5,097 99
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will amend the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1975 to ensure that where an employed earner has more than one employment and class 1 contributions have been paid on earnings at the upper earnings limit during the whole year in one such employment, his employers should be relieved from liability for contributions in respect of any other employments; and, if not, why not.
§ Mr. O'MalleyNo. The regulations already provide for a person's earnings from concurrent employments with the same employer to be aggregated for contribution liability purposes, but it would be wrong, in an earnings-related scheme, to relieve an employer of liability for secondary contributions because his employee happened to have another well-paid job with a different employer.
104Wand income from investments, together with other miscellaneous receipts; the outgo has consisted of benefit payments, administration expenses, transfer payments to Northern Ireland, and other sundry expenses. It is not possible to say which specific parts of the various forms of income go to meet benefit outgo and which to meet other forms of outgo. If one assumes that all contribution income, including payments in lieu of contributions, is used for benefit payments exclusively, the percentages are as follows:
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will list the provisions of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1975, affected by amendments coming into operation on 25th February 1976; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. O'MalleyI would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his Question of 2nd March.—[Vol. 906, c.531–2.]—In addition to the new provisions relating to the contribution liability of employed earners with more than one employment, the amendments also provide for payments by way of pensions to be disregarded for purposes of earnings-related contributions, for a self-employed contributor to be excepted from liability when in receipt of an invalid care allowance and, in certain circumstances, for the payment, outside the prescribed period, of class 3 contributions payable for periods abroad. The other amendments are of a minor nature.