§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of190W unpaid national insurance contributions in fiscal years (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [80650]
§ Dawn PrimaroloNational Insurance Contributions (N ICs) identified as due, but not paid and subsequently written off amounted to £218 million in 1998–99; £188 million in 1999–2000; and £180 million in 2000–01. This represents 0.4 per cent., 0.3 per cent. and 0.3 per cent. of the total NICs receipts for those years, respectively.
NICs may be written off where pursuit is unlikely to be successful, for example because a company is insolvent; or where it is regarded as neither practical nor cost effective to pursue the debt, for example because the debtor has gone abroad.