§ 45. Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of persons included in the unemployment figures who are voluntarily unemployed.
§ Mr. PrenticeOut of 4,383,000 claims for unemployment benefit during 1978 there were 577,000 disqualifications under section 20(1) of the Social Security Act 1975, the great majority being for leaving work voluntarily or industrial misconduct. On 11 May 1978, the latest date for which figures are available, 18,000 claimants were disqualified for leaving work voluntarily and 6,000 for misconduct.