§ Mr. Maudeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the results of his Department's review of the position of the self-employed in the national insurance system that took place in 1981.
§ Dr. BoysonIn 1980 we published a discussion document and consulted widely on the basis of it; but there was no clear consensus among the 16 organisations and 63 individuals who responded to it. Even the most popular change suggested—extending unemployment benefit to self-employed people — failed to command majority support and is open to serious objections. In particular, even the organisations that supported it did not think that self-employed people would be prepared to pay the extra amount needed in class 2 contributions — about £7 a week for the current year, instead of the present £4.40. We therefore concluded that the national insurance system is not an appropriate vehicle for channelling help to self-employed people. We are grateful to all those who replied and to the organisation that took part in subsequent discussions.