§ 21. Mr. Donald ThompsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating the basic pension by £13 for a single person and £20 for a couple.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardMy hon. Friend will be interested to know that the cost to the national insurance fund of uprating the retirement pension in this way would be approximately £6 billion. Such an increase would also56W mean a rise in the national insurance contributions paid by an employee on average earnings of approximately £2.93 per week and £5.34 for his employer.