§ Mr. Canavanasked the Prime Minister what is the average annual cost to Her Majesty's Government of (a) a person in full-time higher education and (b) an unemployed person, taking into account payments of grants, benefits and so on, and also loss of revenue which would accrue to the Exchequer if the unemployed person were working.
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§ The Prime MinisterThe average recurrent cost including awards costs per student in full-time higher education is about £5,700 a year at current prices.
Benefits paid to the unemployed depend on their individual circumstances. For someone of student age and with no special needs or responsibilities, supplementary benefits would amount to about £1,100 if they were unemployed for a full year.
Estimates of losses of income tax and national insurance contributions due to an increase in unemployment depend on assumptions about what the unemployed would have earned had they been in work. There would be no loss in respect of unemployed people who would otherwise have been in full-time higher education, since they would not as such have paid income tax or national insurance contributions.