Benefits

HC Deb 16 November 1989 vol 160 cc443-4W

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table on the same basis as that given in the written answer dated 20 March 1987 showing the total benefits paid out to the unemployed in 1987–88, 1988–89 and his forecast for 1989–90, together with payments from the redundancy fund, the percentage both represent of gross domestic product and the revenue from North sea oil.

Mr. Scott

The information requested is shown in the table.

	1987–88 £ million	1988–89 £ million	1989–90 £ million
Benefits expenditure on the unemployed	16,250	25,430	35,240
Total expenditure from the Redundancy Fund	181	274	371
Total	6,331	5,504	5,311
As percentage of GDP	1.5	1.2	1.0
As percentage of North sea oil revenue	138	172	204

¹ Outturn

² Estimated outturn.

³ Plans.