§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the ratio of unemployment benefit to average adult male earnings for (a) a single person, (b) a married couple and (c) a married couple and two children at the latest available date; and how this compares with the position in 1950, 1960 and 1970.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI would refer the hon. Member to the Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Table 6.2(b) shows unemployment benefit, including earnings-related supplement, plus, where appropriate, family allowances/child benefit as a percentage of net income, based on the average earnings of all adult male workers. The latest firm figures available, to add to those in the table, are for April 1980; and the relevant percentages are (a) 38.0, (b) 48.7 and (c) 56.3 respectively. Figures based on the earnings of all adult male workers are not available for years before 1970; but table 6.1(a) gives similar figures for 1950 and 1960—before earnings-related supplement was introduced—based on the average earnings of male manual workers.
Mr. Jim Callaghanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid to persons in the 60 to 64 years age group in the last three years in the form of unemployment benefit.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that information is not available in the form requested. The nearest available information relates to a five per cent sample of persons claiming unemployment benefit on one day in May 1978, 1979 and 1980. It is estimated from this that the total amount of unemployment benefit—not including any supplementary benefit—payable for a full week in those months to persons aged 60 to 64 was £1.4 million, £1.4 million and £1.7 million respectively. Multiplying those figures by 52 would provide only a very approximate estimate of payments for a full year.