asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give an estimate of the number of people in receipt of unemployment assistance at (a) the urban higher rate and (b) the non-urban lower rate; and the cost to the Exchequer for the full year if the non-urban lower rate was increased to the urban rate.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Assistance Statistics.
64.
On 29 January 1988, there were 61,013 people in receipt of unemployment assistance at the higher urban rate and 79,065 people in receipt of unemployment assistance at the lower rural rate.
The annual cost of increasing the non-urban rates to the urban rates would be approximately £7.5 million.