§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much it would cost to raise national insurance benefits for old persons' pensions, unemployment benefit, sickness benefit and the non-contributory invalidity benefit up to the level of the flat-rate retirement
Gross cost Saving on Supplementary Benefit Net cost £ million £ million £ million Old person's pensions … … 25 20 5 Unemployment benefit* … … 200 170 30 Sickness benefit* … … 170 60 110 Non-contributory invalidity benefit … … 50 40 10 * Excluding earnings-related supplement.