§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the cost of a registered unemployed person to the Exchequer in lost taxes and in unemployment related benefits.
§ Mr. AitkenInformation on the total cost of unemployment related benefits for Great Britain is given by the Department of Social Security in its annual report. In 1993–94 this is estimated to amount to £9,720 million. The average level of unemployment in 1993–94 was 2,750,000. The implied cost of an unemployed person is £3,535.
Estimates of tax revenues forgone involve estimating the indirect and direct taxes unemployed people would pay in employment. Any attempt to estimate these figures would depend on a large number of assumptions. Such 755W assumptions are inevitably arbitrary and any estimate of the cost of lost taxes is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total cost to the Exchequer since 1979 to date of(a) lost taxes and (b) unemployment related benefits due to the levels of registered unemployment.
§ Mr. AitkenThe amount of lost taxes as a result of unemployment cannot be estimated reliably. Estimating the indirect and direct taxes an unemployed person would pay in employment depends on a large number of assumptions. Such assumptions are inevitably arbitrary.
Information on the total cost of unemployment related benefits for Great Britain is given by the Department of Social Security in its annual report. Information for the years since 1978–79 is as follows:
Year Total £million 1978–79 1,321 1979–80 1,409 1980–81 2,387 1981–82 3,666 1982–83 4,552 1983–84 5,671 1984–85 6,290 1985–86 6,936 1986–87 7,134 1987–88 6,381 1988–89 5,240 1989–90 4,310 1990–91 5,070 1991–92 7,530 1992–93 9,110 1993–94 9,720 The figures are in cash terms, unadjusted for inflation.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can provide an estimate of net savings to the Exchequer if there was a one million reduction in the unemployment total.
§ Mr. AitkenThe Department of Social Security estimates that a 100,000 fall in unemployment in 1994–95 would reduce expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by £365 million. The implied savings for a 1 million fall in the unemployment total is £3,650 million.