HC Deb 10 June 1986 vol 99 cc144-5W
Mr. Gordon Brown

asked the Paymaster General (1) how many unemployed persons sign on by post;

(2) what he estimates to be the financial saving in a full calendar year of requiring persons signing on by post to pay the cost of the postage;

(3) when he first announced his new proposal to require persons signing on by post to pay the cost of postage;

(4) on what basis advice is being given to unemployed claimants that when signing on by post they should use a first-class stamp.

Mr. Lang

Approximately 195,000 unemployed people sign on by post and it is estimated that a saving of £600,000 will be made by requiring them to pay the cost of posting their fortnightly claim forms. No formal announcement of the change was made but claimants affected have been told individually about the changes. Claimants are advised that a first or second-class stamp may be used but use of second-class stamp may lead to later payment than that to which they are accustomed.