§ Mr. Raisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures quantifying his answer to a supplementary question from the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 31st January on the relative impact on unemployment of public expenditure on job subsidisation schemes as against similar spending on orthodox services such as health, defence and education.
§ Mr. Golding,pursuant to the reply [Official Report, 3rd February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 336], gave the following information:
It is not customary to divulge estimates of cost per job of different items of public expenditure. I am, however, confident 439W that the cost per job of the subsidy schemes is less than that of the kind of public sector jobs mentioned because the subsidy is only a small proportion of the total wage costs. No subsidy provides more than £1,040 per year for a job. By contrast, increases in public expenditure on the lines indicated would require the Government to cover not only the total wage costs but also the related non-labour costs. Therefore the existing job subsidy measures are the most cost/effective way of achieving an immediate impact on unemployment.