§ Lord Stallardasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their estimate of the proportion of the income of a pensioner receiving less than £50 per week spent on furnishings and other luxury goods; and what is their estimate of the amount spent by families with an income of over £250 per week.
The Earl of GowrieAccording to the Family Expenditure Survey for 1982, 25 per cent. of the total expenditure of single pensioner households (i.e., those in which at least three-quarters of income was derived from national insurance retirement and similar pensions) was on goods and services other than housing, fuel and light, food and clothing. The comparable percentage for households with a gross income of £250 and over was 55 per cent.