§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many registered unemployed persons received neither unemployment nor supplementary benefit at the latest convenient date; and what proportion of these numbers will be removed from the count of the unemployed under the new procedures to be used from October.
§ Mr. NewtonComparison between the counts of registered unemployed people and those who are claiming benefits are not usually made, because of known differences in coverage. At 11 February 1982 there were 2,703,000 unemployed people claiming either benefit or credits. 430,000 of these were receiving neither unemployment nor supplementary benefit, 15.9 per cent. of the total; this figure includes those whose claims had not been determined at that date. This proportion is not expected to change as a result of the introduction of voluntary registration.
As my hon. Friend said on 4 February 1982 during the Committee stage of the Social Security and Housing Benefits Bill [Official Report, Standing Committee B, c. 411], we expect the reduction in the overall count of 207W unemployed people to be about 50,000 when the count is based on claimants at unemployment benefit offices instead of on those registering at Jobcentres.