§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the number of people paying class 3 national insurance contributions and the cost of reducing those contributions in line with his October 1989 reductions for the low paid.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardIt is estimated that around 250,000 people pay some voluntary class 3 national insurance contributions each year. The October 1989 contributions changes could not be directly applied to the class 3 rate because voluntary contributions are not earnings related.