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Ms. Clare Short
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many individuals have paid self-employed national insurance contributions in each year since 1979.
Mr. Major
The information is as follows:
| Persons paying Class 2 (self-employed) National Insurance Contributions, United Kingdom | |
| Year | (thousands) |
| 1979–80 | 1,608 |
| 1980–81 | 1,661 |
| 1981–82 | 1,697 |
| 1982–83 | 1,766 |
| 1983–84 | 1,845 |
| Notes: | |
| 1. Final figures are not available for later years. The Government Actuary has estimated that currently about 2 million people in the United Kingdom are paying self-employed national insurance contributions. | |
| 2. Self-employed people with profits above the lower profits limit are liable to pay class 4 contributions in addition to class 2. Precise information on the numbers involved is not available but it is estimated that between 1¼ and 1½ million people are currently liable to pay class 4 contributions. | |