§ Mr. Tim Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many company directors have been proceeded against under section 152(4) of the Social Security Act 1975 in each year since its enactment; and how much in unpaid national insurance contributions has been recovered from them.
§ Dr. BoysonInformation is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The following table sets out the numbers of writs issued against defendants in section 152(4) actions and the total amounts collected in respect of section 152(4) debts:
Year *†Writs issued *Money received £ ‡1,975 87 101,000 1976 112 72,000 1977 78 57,000 1978 66 61,000 1979 79 93,000 1980 122 220,000 1981 158 423,000 1982 173 370,000 1983 232 949,000 * Money received does not relate exclusively to the writs issued in the same years because payments of amounts outstanding are frequently made over a period of months or years. The sums shown in the table also include some settlements made before the need arose for writs to be issued. † A writ may name more than one company director. ‡ Some of the cases included in the 1975 figures would have been taken before the Act came into force, in April 1975, under the corresponding provision (Section 95(8)) of the National Insurance Act 1965. A further number of such cases are likely to have been included in the figures for the following several years.