§ Mr. Hordernasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the loss to the Inland Revenue if those who had reached the age of 60 years and who had been out of work for over a year were allowed to be eligible for retirement benefit.
§ Mr. MooreAn estimate was given to my hon. Friend last year on 21 February 1983 at column 348 that the net extra cost to central Government funds of allowing men of 60 to 65 who have been unemployed for over a year to receive a retirement pension would be £360 million at November 1982 benefit levels. Since then, unemployed men between age 60 and 65 who do not register for employment have been able to qualify for the long-term rate of supplementary benefit and have also received national insurance contribution credits automatically. By August 1983 it is estimated that about 160,000 men had ceased to register as a result of these provisions. These changes mean that reliable information on which to update the estimate is no longer available.