HC Deb 14 November 1988 vol 140 cc539-40W
Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the revenue derived from taxing unemployment benefit, and that part of an unemployed claimant's supplementary benefit-income support, for each year since unemployment benefit was brought into tax.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 27 October 1988]The latest estimates of the yield from taxing unemployment benefit and supplementary benefit or income support paid in lieu of unemployment benefit are as follows:

£ million
1982–83 1300
1983–84 375
1984–85 400
1985–86 400
1986–87 400
1987–88 375
1988–89 300
1 Unemployment benefits became taxable on 5 July 1982.

These estimates are based on national amounts of benefits paid each year to the unemployed and information on income of the unemployed derived from the results of the 1984 and 1985 family expenditure surveys. The figures are subject to revision when later information becomes available.