§ Miss Richardsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) single people without children, (b) married men without children, (c) married men with children, (d) one-parent families, and (e) working wives were below the tax threshold at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesInformation is not directly available as to the numbers below the tax thresholds in the population categories specified.
But it may be helpful to have estimates, on a slightly different definition, of the 599W total population to compare with the number paying tax in these categories. Population estimates and a special analysis of the general household survey suggest that the total population in each specified category was approximately:
'000 Single persons without children 13,300 Married men without dependent children 7,100 Married men with dependent children 7,000 One-parent families 800 Working wives 7,000 These figures are provisional.
('000s 1975–76 1978–79 estimates (a) Single persons without children … … … … … 8,140 8,210 (b) Married men without children … … … … … 5,890 5,850 (c) Married men with children … … … … … 6,310 6,360 (d) One-parent families … … … … … 390 420 (e) Working wives … … … … … 4,700 4,740 The latest available firm information, for 1975–76, is based on the Inland Revenue's survey of personal incomes. The figures for 1978–79 are estimates. The number of working wives includes in each year about 200,000 wives whose husbands are not taxpayers and are not included in (b) or (c).