§ Mr. Hillasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of after-tax income from all sources is taken by the highest and lowest quartiles of households in the latest year for which information is available; and what were the corresponding percentages in 1974 and 1979.
§ Mr. MooreThe information is as follows:
Percentage shares of household disposable income 1974 1979 1982 Lowest quartile of households 9.2 8.9 9.2 Highest quartile of households (ranked by disposable income) 45.3 45.5 46.3 The figures are shown for the highest and lowest quartiles of households in the family expenditure survey ranked by disposable income for 1974, 1979 and 1982, the latest year for which survey data are available. Disposable income is defined as earned and investment income, occupational pensions, and all state benefits, net of personal income tax and employees' national insurance contributions.