§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate has been made on the amount of national insurance and other statutory contributions, together with provision for compensation and other payment, to employees and ex-employees, in the agricultural and manufacturing industries; and how this compares with the amount levied by other EEC countries.
§ Mr. OrmeStatistics from which estimates can be made of the amounts paid by employers by way of national insurance contributions—which cover redundancy payments—and in other respects on behalf of employees and ex-employees in the agricultural and manufacturing industries are not maintained.
§ Mr. Cowansasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the total administrative cost entailed in paying out refunds to people overpaying as a result of social security charges on part-time earnings;
(2) how much time elapses between an application for repayment of overpayment of social security charges on part-time earnings and the actual payment to the applicant;
502W(3) how many applications for repayment of overpayment of social security charges on part-time earnings await processing in the following areas: (a) the Northern Region and (b) the rest of the country, region by region;
(4) how many applications were received for refund due to the overpayment of social security charges on part time earnings, in the following areas: (a) the Northern Region, and (b) the rest of the country, region by region;
(5) what is the total amount paid out as refunds to people claiming as a result of overpayment of social security charges on part-time earnings;
(6) what is the total sum collected attributable to the payment of social security on part-time earnings;
(7) what are the administrative costs directly attributable to the collection of social security charges on part-time earnings;
(8) if he will publish the criteria used to establish, where a person has more than one occupation, which of these is the substantive occupation and which is his part-time occupation;
(9) if he will publish his Department's definition of part time employment
§ Mr. OrmeAs regards the Department's definition of part-time employment, I would refer my hon. Friend to my hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Mrs. Hayman) on 25th May.—[Vol. 932 c. 468.] The definition of part-time work is not, however, material to the payment of national insurance contributions, which are collected on earnings from all employments where the earnings exceed the low earnings limit. Where a person has more than one employment, this may result in an overpayment of contributions and in the generality of such cases a refund will be made. The cost of collecting contributions on multiple employments cannot be isolated but it is estimated that the cost of making refunds in the 1977–78 tax year will amount to £424,000. The amount paid out up to April 1977 as refunds in respect of the 1975–76 tax year was £2.3 million. Once an overpayment of contributions has been identified, which can be done only when the records of an individual's contributions have been received from all his 503W employers, an application for a refund is invited. When the application is returned, payment will generally be made within a week. Statistics of applications for refunds are not kept on a regional basis.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much additional revenue would be raised by abolishing the earnings ceiling for national insurance contributions.
§ Mr. OrmeOn the earnings and unemployment asumptions used in the report by the Government Actuary on the draft of the Social Security Benefits Uprating Order 1977 (Cmnd. 6848), it is estimated that in the absence of a ceiling on national insurance contributions, the contributions—including the national insurance surcharge in the case of Class 1 contributions—to be received in respect of the year 1977–78 would be increased by some £480 million.