HC Deb 08 December 1978 vol 959 c135W
Mr. Wigley

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the cost to the taxpayer of an unemployed man with a wife and two children; and how this compares with the 1976 estimate by the Manpower Services Commission of between £ 320 and £ 360 per month.

Mr. Golding:

Our estimate of the cost to the taxpayer of an unemployed man with a wife and two children at April 1978 is £ 320 per month.

The MSC estimate of between £ 320 and £ 360 per month does not refer to 1976 but rather to October 1977 to December 1978.