§ Ms. Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women claimed widows' allowance, broken down by age showing (a) the number who were aged less than 40 years, (b) the number who were aged 60 or more and (c) by single years the number who were aged between 40 and 59 years, or the nearest available information, and for the latest available year.
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§ Mr. WhitneyThe information requested is as follows:
Awards of widow's allowance in 12 months to 31 March 1983* Age of widow at husband's death Number of awards Under 40 4,880 40 670 41 770 42 750 43 1,000 44 1,020 45 950 46 990 47 1,070 48 1,210 49 1,700 50 2,090 51 2,210 52 2,810 53 2,910 54 3,420 55 3,620 56 3,770 57 3,930 58 4,310 59 4,370 60 and over 11,490 * Excluding awards of widow's allowance which were not followed by a succeeding long-term widow's benefit—no information is available on these cases.