To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Page), 15 April 1999, Official Report, column 358, on national insurance and the self-employed, what factors underlie the difference between that answer and the figures in Table 1–11 of the Red Book. [81718]

As explained in the Red Book (page 115, final paragraph) the figures in Table 1.11 are on a National Accounts Basis. For National Insurance Contributions this means that the figures depend on when the liability arises, not when the cash is expected to be received.The question from the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Page) asked for the change in the amount to be paid by the self-employed in 2000–01, so the answer gave an estimate of the effect on actual National Insurance Contributions receipts in 2000–01.