§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the number of persons and families living (a) below, (b) on, (c) up to 110 per cent., (d) 120 per cent. and (e) 140 per cent. of the supplementary benefit level for each year since 1974 according to the standard family and employment status groupings.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 22 May 1979, c. 112]: The information is as follows:
NOTES TO TABLES
1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000. Consequently the sum of the component parts may not equal the totals.
660W2. The estimates for those not receiving supplementary benefit are based on the DHSS analysis of incomes and other information rcorded bw respondents to the Family Expenditure Survey for 1977. The estimates are subject to statistical error. Those figures in square brackets are subject to very considerable proportionate statistical error. Estimates of those receiving supplementary benefit are derived from the Annual Statistical Enquiry of Supplementary Benefit claimants.
3. These estimates relate only to the population living in private households, families and persons in institutions are not sampled in the FES.
4. The supplementary benefit level is taken as being the supplementary benefit scale rate(s) appropriate to the family, using the long term rates for pensioners only. Income refers to net income less net housing costs, less work expenses where appropriate.
5. The comparison is based on the family's normal income in the normal employment situation of the family head. For example where the head of the family has been off work due to sickness or unemployment for less than three months at the time of the survey the family's normal income when the head was at work was used in determining the level of income.
6. The estimates for numbers of families with income below the supplementary benefit level do not indicate unclaimed entitlement to supplementary benefit. For example those who are in full-time work or undertaking full-time further education would not normally have entitlement to supplementary benefit; for others not precluded from claiming, no regard is had in these estimates to factors such as disregarded income, treatment of capital or exceptional circumstance additions, each of which can affect payment of supplementary benefit.
5. Separate estimates of families with apparent unclaimed entitlement to supplementary benefit are now made annually. Those for 1976 were published in the Annual Report of the Supplementary Benefits Commission for 1977 (Cmnd. 7392); estimates for 1977 were published in the Commissions Report for 1978.
8. The 1977 estimates for families with incomes below the supplementary benefit level are directly comparable with those for 1974, 1975 and 1976 but not with those for 1972 and 1973. In earlier years it had been assumed that the income distribution of the self employed was the same for employees. Self employed sample records were included in the analysis in 1974 for the first time and this has been repeated since. The figures on the self-employed are specially liable to error because their incomes recorded in the FES tend to be particularly low in relation to their recorded expenditure. This discrepancy is partly due to the incomes of the self employed being recorded in many cases for a much earlier period than to which their expenditure relates and the data in the tables for 1975, 1976 and 1977 have been adjusted to take account of this. The 1977 data contained more information so a finer adjustment was possible for that year.
661W662W663W
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FAMILIES WITH INCOMES BELOW SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT LEVEL ANALYSED BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND FAMILY TYPE Great Britain (thousands) 1974 1975 1976 1977 Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons EMPLOYMENT STATUS 1. Over pensionable age (60 for woman, 65 for man) 450 550 590 740 700 870 620 760 2. Under pensionable age Family head or single person: (a) Normally in full-time work or self-employed 130 360 210 630 290 890 230 640 (b) Sick or disabled for more than 3 months [20] 60 [20] [30] [20] [30] [40] 70 (c) Unemployed for more than 3 months [40] 90 60 120 100 170 150 290 (d) Others 280 350 210 320 250 320 220 270 Total under pensionable age 470 850 500 1,100 650 1,410 640 1,270 Of which in large families (3 or more children) [40] 230 [50] 310 70 420 60 320 Of which lone parent families [20] 70 [50] 150 [40] 100 [40] 110 Total of 1 and 2 920 1,140 1,090 1,840 1,350 2,280 1,260 2,020 FAMILY TYPE 3. Over pension age (a) Married couples 90 200 140 280 160 320 130 260 (b) Single persons 350 350 450 470 550 550 490 500 4. Under pension age (a) Married couples with children 90 390 130 570 190 820 160 670 (b) Single persons with children [20] 70 [50] 150 [40] 100 [40] 110 (c) Married couples without children [30] 70 60 120 70 130 [50] 90 (d) Single persons without children 330 330 260 260 360 360 390 390 Total of 3 and 4 920 1,140 1,090 1,840 1,350 2,280 1,260 2,020 664W665W
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT ANALYSED BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND FAMILY TYPE Great Britain (thousands) 1974 1975 1976 1977 Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons EMPLOYMENT STATUS 1. Over pensionable age (60 for woman, 65 for man) 1,810 2,130 1,640 1,930 1,660 950 1,700 2,000 2. Under pensionable age Family head or single person: (b) Sick or disabled for more than 3 months 280 420 190 270 190 250 180 240 (c) Unemployed for more than 3 months 140 360 290 720 410 910 420 980 (d) Others 300 820 290 800 360 980 350 940 Total under pensionable age 720 1,600 780 1,780 950 2,140 950 2,160 Of which in large families (3 children or more) 100 530 120 620 130 700 140 720 Of which lone parent families 260 760 260 760 320 920 320 900 Total of 1 and 2 2,530 3,730 2,430 3,710 2,610 4,090 2,650 4,160 FAMILY TYPE 3. Over pension age (a) Married couples 320 650 280 560 290 580 290 580 (b) Single persons 1,480 1,480 1,370 1,370 1,370 1,370 1,410 1,410 4. Under pension age (a) Married couples with children 80 390 120 550 140 640 150 700 (b) Single persons with children 260 760 260 760 320 920 320 900 (c) Married couples without children 80 150 70 130 80 160 80 160 (d) Single persons without children 300 300 340 340 410 410 390 390 Total of 3 and 4 2,530 3,730 2,430 3,710 2,610 4,090 2,650 4,160 666W667W
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND PERSONS WITH INCOMES AT OR ABOVE SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT LEVEL BUT LESS THAN 10 PER CENT. ABOVE ANALYSED BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND FAMILY TYPE Great Britain (thousands) 1974 1975 1976 1977 Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons EMPLOYMENT STATUS 1. Over pensionable age (60 for woman, 65 for man) 490 650 430 610 570 810 560 810 2. Under pensionable age Family head or single person: (a) Normally in full-time work or self-employed [50] 150 90 400 160 610 140 500 (b) Sick or disabled for more than 3 months [20] 60 [10] [30] [10] [40] [30] 70 (c) Unemployed for more than 3 months [10] [20] [20] [30] [50] 140 [30] 60 (d) Others [40] 90 [30] [50] [30] [30] [40] [50] Total under pensionable age 110 310 160 520 250 820 230 680 Of which in large families (3 or more children) [10] 60 [40] 240 80 430 [40] 220 Of which lone parent families [10] [40] [10] [30] [10] [30] [20] 70 Total of 1 and 2 610 960 590 1,120 820 1,630 790 1,490 FAMILY TYPE 3. Over pension age (a) Married couples 150 300 170 350 240 470 250 500 (b) Single persons 350 350 260 260 340 340 310 310 4. Under pension age (a) Married couples with children [40] 200 90 410 140 660 120 500 (b) Single persons with children [10] [40] [10] [30] [10] [30] [20] 70 (c) Married couples without children [20] [30] [20] [30] [30] 60 [20] [50] (d) Single persons without children [50] [50] [40] [40] 70 70 70 70 Total of 3 and 4 610 960 590 1,120 820 1,630 790 1,490 668W669W
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND PERSONS WITH INCOMES AT OR ABOVE SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT LEVEL BUT LESS THAN 20 PER CENT. ABOVE ANALYSED BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND FAMILY TYPE Great Britain (thousands) 1974 1975 1976 1977 Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons EMPLOYMENT STATUS 1. Over pensionable age (60 for woman, 65 for man) 1,030 1,360 1,090 1,500 1,360 1,890 1,350 1,860 2. Under pensionable age Family head or single person: (a) Normally in full-time work or self-employed 140 520 220 870 450 1,670 390 1,440 (b) Sick or disabled for more than 3 months [30] 90 [50] 110 70 150 90 250 (c) Unemployed for more than 3 months [30] 60 60 100 90 220 80 150 (d) Others 70 120 90 170 70 100 110 200 Total under pensionable age 270 800 410 1,250 680 2,140 670 2,040 Of which in large families (3 or more children) 70 390 90 530 180 970 140 750 Of which lone parent families [20] 60 [20] 80 [30] 90 [50] 180 Total of 1 and 2 1,300 2,160 1,500 2,750 2,040 4,040 2,010 3,890 FAMILY TYPE 3. Over pension age (a) Married couples 330 660 400 810 520 1,050 510 1,020 (b) Single persons 700 700 690 690 840 850 830 830 4. Under pension age (a) Married couples with children 120 580 200 920 380 1,700 360 1,520 (b) Single persons with children [20] 60 [20] 80 [30] 90 [50] 180 (c) Married couples without children [30] 70 60 130 90 180 80 160 (d) Single persons without children 100 100 130 130 170 170 180 180 Total of 3 and 4 1,300 2,160 1,500 2,750 2,040 4,040 2,010 3,890 670W
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND PERSONS WITH INCOMES AT OR ABOVE SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT LEVEL BUT LESS THAN 40 PER CENT. ABOVE ANALYSED BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND FAMILY TYPE Great Britain (thousands) 1974 1975 1976 1977 Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons Families Persons EMPLOYMENT STATUS 1. Over pensionable age (60 for woman, 65 for man) 1,900 2,720 2,000 2,870 2,240 3,180 2,150 3,010 2. Under pensionable age Family head or single person: (a) Normally in full-time work or self-employed 500 1,960 860 3,290 1,230 4,450 1,070 3,820 (b) Sick or disabled for more than 3 months 70 230 120 300 130 290 160 400 (c) Unemployed for more than 3 months [50] 90 80 190 120 290 110 200 (d) Others 160 250 200 340 190 290 240 410 Total under pensionable age 770 2,540 1,270 4,120 1,670 5,320 1,580 4,830 Of which in large families (3 children or more) 430 2,060 320 1,830 400 2,190 310 1,700 Of which lone parent families [30] 80 80 250 70 220 90 290 Total of 1 and 2 2,670 5,250 3,270 6,990 3,900 8,500 3,730 7,840 FAMILY TYPE 3. Over pension age (a) Married couples 810 1,630 850 1,710 920 1,860 860 1,720 (b) Single persons 1,090 1,090 1,150 1,150 1,310 1,320 1,290 1,290 4. Under pension age (a) Married couples with children 430 2,060 710 3,200 960 4,220 880 3,690 (b) Single persons with children [30] 80 80 250 70 220 90 290 (c) Married couples without children 80 170 190 380 250 490 230 450 (d) Single persons without children 230 230 290 290 390 390 390 390 Total of 3 and 4 2,670 5,250 3,270 6,990 3,900 8,500 3,730 7,840