Written question asked by Robert Marshall-Andrews (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 June 2006. It was answered by James Plaskitt (Labour) on Monday, 2 October 2006 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

National Insurance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers are in operation for persons over 16 years old in England and Wales.

Answer: As at July 2006, there are 76.8 million national insurance numbers (NINOs) held on the Departmental Central Index (DCI) (now the Customer Information System (CIS)). These figures relate to the UK, as we are unable to specify separately the numbers for England and Wales.In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) NINOs are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid while in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual. This means that the number of accounts held on the system accrues as NINOs are allocated each year to all UK children who reach 16 years and persons from abroad requiring a NINO are added.

Secondary information