§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of the adults who applied for national insurance numbers were refused by the Contributions Agency in each of the last five years; and of these how many were(a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority background.
§ Mr. HagueThe administration of the issue of national insurance numbers is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 27 June 1994:
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency I am responsible for answering questions about relevant operational matters. I have been asked to reply to your question about what proportion of the adults who applied for National Insurance numbers (NINOs) were refused by the Contributions Agency in each of the last five years; and of these how many were (a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority background.529WThe Agency is unable to provide the details you have requested as no such records are kept. But over the last 5 years more than 1 million adults have applied for and have been given a NINO.In order to obtain a NINO an adult must usually attend a Social Security office in person and complete the appropriate application form. In addition suitable evidence of identity must be provided.NINOs are only needed by people who are paying NI contributions so that we can keep a record of their contributions, or by people who have claimed certain Social Security benefits. A NINO is likely to be refused when it is not needed for either of these purposes or when there are doubts about the validity of the application.I am sorry that the precise information you have requested is not available but I hope that my reply has proved helpful. If you think I could give you any more details on this topic, I would be happy to try and do so.