§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many widows and married women aged under 60 years, respectively, pay reduced rate contributions; whether these were all full-time employees; and what is his projection for the phasing out of reduced contributions.
§ Mr. RossiThe latest provisional figures show that in 1980–81, 2,687,557 married women and 156,082 widows under 60 in Great Britain paid reduced rate contributions. These figures cover full-time and part-time employments, which are not distinguished for contributions purposes. Under present arrangements 2021 will be the last year in which a contribution can be paid at the reduced rate, but we expect very few women to be paying such contributions by the end of this century.