HC Deb 23 July 1985 vol 83 cc523-5W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the numbers paying class 1 and class 2 national insurance contributions and the proportion contracted out of the state pension scheme.

Mr. Whitney

In the 1982–83 tax year the numbers of people who paid class 1 and class 2 national insurance contributions are estimated to be 22,006,400 and 1,296,900 respectively. These figures are based on a 1 per cent sample. The proportion of class 1 contributors contracted-out of the state earnings-related pension scheme is about 46 per cent.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report the number of males and females paying national insurance on a full-time and on a part-time basis at the present time compared with 1979 and 1973; and if he will provide similar figures for manufacturing.

Mr. Whitney

The numbers of males and females paying class 1 employed earners contributions for the years in question are:

Year ending
April 1973 April 1979 April 1983
Males 14,219,000 14,730,000 13,236,900
Females 3,980,000 9,412,450 8,770,100

Notes:

(1) The figures are derived from a 1 percent. Sample

(2) 1983 figures are the latest available

(3) The figures also include th numbers of contributors paying a mixure of class 1 and Class 2 (self-employment) contributions.

(4) separate figures are not available for manufacturing.

(5) The figures can not be brown down into full-time and part-time contributors.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of married women and widows paying the reduced rate contribution.

Mr. Whitney

The latest estimates of the numbers of married women and widows paying the reduced-rate contribution are:

Number
Married women *2,236,900
Widows †24,200
Total 2,261,100
*Includes 54,000 paying a mixture of standard and reduced-rate contributions.
†lncludes 100 paying a mixture of standard and reduced-rate contributions.

These figures are based on a 1 per cent sample of contributions paid in the year ending 5 April 1983.

Mr. Stern

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce his detailed requirements of employers for such information on national insurance contributions in so far as such requirements are altered by the provisions of the Social Security Bill.

Mr. Whitney

The Social Security Act provides for employers to be compensated for their share of national insurance contributions payable on statutory sick pay. Employers will deduct the appropriate compensation from their monthly payments of national insurance contributions to the Collector of Taxes and will be required to show on their end-of-year returns the total of amounts so deducted. Details of the new procedure will be sent next month to employers with the tables of the national insurance contributions applicable from 6 October. No other provisions in the Act give rise to changes in the information required from employers about national insurance contributions.

Mr. Stern

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to obtain the views of manufacturers and suppliers of payroll packages on the effects of the provisions of the Social Security Bill in relation to multiple-rate national insurance contributions, and the consequent changed requirements for year-end information.

Mr. Whitney

The changes in national insurance contributions were discussed by our officials with the British Computer Society on 28 March and subsequent discussions have been held with various individual companies. The only change in end-of-year information is a requirement for employers to state the total amount of compensation for contributions on statutory sick pay which they have deducted from payments to the Collector of Taxes.