To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many standard rate tax payers would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit from national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many standard rate tax payers would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many standard rate taxpayers would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, South (Mr. Bruce).

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent representations he has received regarding the level of national insurance contributions.

Representatives of the business community have recently urged us to retain the upper earnings limit for employees' national insurance contributions and to keep employers' national insurance contributions as low as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many standard rate taxpayers would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.

If the upper earnings limit for employees' National Insurance contributions were removed it is currently estimated that about 3·3 million people would pay more contributions, of whom about 2·1 million people would be standard rate tax payers. If the corresponding upper profits limit for self-employed people were also removed it is estimated that about another 500,000 people would pay more contributions, of whom about 200,000 would be standard rate tax payers.