§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's estimate of the current cost of financing each additional 100,000 unemployed in the United Kingdom including the loss of tax, income and insurance contributions.
§ Mr. Biffen[pursuant to his reply, 4 December 1980]: The current cost of financing each additional 100.000 unemployed depends on the cause of the initial increase in unemployment and on the characteristics of the 213W unemployed. Without making specific assumptions on these and other factors, it is not possible to provide estimates of the cost.