HC Deb 12 February 1985 vol 73 c150W
15. Mr. David Atkinson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much unemployed people are allowed to earn per day before losing benefit.

Mr. Whitney

An unemployed person can earn up to £2 per day before losing his unemployment benefit for that day. He can earn £4 per week before supplementary benefit is affected. Any excess over £4 reduces supplementary benefit by an equivalent amount.

Mr. Wigley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in Wales were debarred, during 1984, from receiving unemployment insurance benefit; and how this compares with figures for each of the five preceding years.

Mr. Whitney

[pursuant to his reply, 31 January 1985, c. 306]: I regret that the figures for 1984 are not yet available because of the effects of the recently ended Newcastle computer strike. However, the information for 1983 and the five preceding years is given in the table. This shows the numbers of unemployed claimants not receiving unemployment benefit on the day of the count in November each year, except 1981, for which the only available statistics relate to February. Numbers in column B include those claimants whose entitlement had not been determined or who had not completed their three-day waiting period, as well as those whose benefit was initially disallowed because of, for example, the voluntary unemployment provisions; some of these claimants would eventually receive unemployment benefit.

This information is taken from the "Quarterly Analysis of Unemployed Claimants", copies of which (from 1980 onwards) are in the Library.

A B C
Year Unemployment benefit exhausted Other reasons Total
1983 59,200 55,100 114,300
1982 61,500 50,900 112,400
1981 30,300 32,100 62,400
1980 26,700 33,200 59,900
1979 22,400 22,600 45,000
1978 23,300 25,100 48,400