§ Mr. Spenceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion employees' and employers' national insurance contributions bears to the average industrial wage; how this proportion compares with our European Economic Community partners; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe tables which follow show the proportions of the average weekly wage in August 1980* for adult manual workers in manufacturing industries represented by employees' and employers' national insurance contributions which include the national insurance surcharge in the case of employers:
209W* The estimates are of average gross weekly earnings related to men aged 21 and over and women aged 18 and over in full-time manual employment in manufacturing industries in Great Britain whose pay was not affected by absence and are derived by extrapolation from the April 1980 new earnings survey estimate using a three month moving average of the whole economy new index (seasonally adjusted). Comparable figures for men and women in all occupations would be £133.70 and £84.70 respectively.
I regret that comparable information in relation to other member States of the European Community is not available to me. My hon. Friend may, however, find it helpful to refer to page 117 of the "Social Benefit Tables for Member States of the European Communities: position at 1 January 1980" which gives information on social security contribution rates. A copy of this publication, which is prepared by the Department, is in the Library of the House.
For the latest available information on average earnings in member States of the European Community, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Undersecretary of State for Employment gave to the hon. Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross) on 3 November.—[Vol. 991, c. 426–30.]