asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state, for each of the years 1946 and 1947, the estimated average number of persons employed weekly: (a) as derived from the net contribution income of the unemployment insurance fund, and (b) as derived from the net contribution income of the national health insurance fund.

The estimated average number (to the nearest 100) of persons employed weekly during 1946 and 1947 (a) as derived from the net contribution income of the unemployment fund, was, respectively, 285,200 and 304,200; (b) as derived from the net contribution income of the national health insurance fund was, respectively, 442,600 and 465,900. The last figure includes approximately 7,100 brought into insurance by the National Health Insurance Act 1947, which extended the scope of national health insurance, as from the 7th April, 1947, to non-manual workers earning between £250 and £500 per annum.