HC Deb 12 March 1980 vol 980 cc603-4W
Mr. Race

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assumptions have been made within his Department about the number of one-parent families in Great Britain since 1978 in order to estimate benefit costs and for other purposes.

Mrs. Chalker

The latest estimate normally used for official purposes is that there were about 825,000 one-patent families in Great Britain in mid-1978.

Other estimates of the number of one-parent families are made from time-to-time for various purposes and they are based on a variety of assumptions. Such estimates have no official status or permanence. An attempt to list and explain all the estimates made since 1978 could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.