§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of those receiving unemployment benefits have no educational qualifications; and what was the cost to the Exchequer of this group in the latest available year.
§ Miss WiddecombeInformation on qualifications of unemployed people is not available from the claimant count. Results from the spring 1993 labour force survey —not seasonally adjusted—show that 34 per cent. of people claiming unemployment-related benefits have no qualifications.
It is not possible to calculate the exact cost to the Exchequer of the group who are unemployed with no qualifications given that it is not possible to distinguish exactly what benefits the group receives. However, using the estimated total expenditure on benefits to the unemployed in the 1992–93 financial year, it can be calculated that the cost of the unemployed to the Exchequer is £3,300 per person per year.