§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families with children have net incomes, defined as for family credit purposes, within(a) £50 and (b) £100 a week of their family credit ceilings.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe numbers of families with children whose net earnings and other relevant income are above the level at which family credit entitlement runs out are as follows:
Numbers of families with children1 (millions) (a) within £50 of run out point 0.93 (b) within £100 of run out point (including (a)) 2.20 1 This excludes any families whose capital is more than £6,000. Note: Estimates are based on 1985 and 1986 Family Expenditure Survey updated to 1989–90.
§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the estimated numbers and percentages of families with children(a) entitled to and (b) receiving family credit, in April 1988 and 1989, together with projections for April 1990.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe available information is as follows:
The child credits, the adult credit and the applicable amount are set so as to create an alignment between the benefits available to those families in work and those out of work which will help to ensure that families will generally be better off in work than when unemployed.
As with other income-related benefits, the credits and the applicable amount in family credit are reviewed each year in the light of the movement in the level of retail prices excluding housing costs.
§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the family credit ceilings for one and two-parent families of different sizes, with children of different ages, in April 1988, 1989 and 1990, at constant and at current prices, and as percentages of past and projected average male and average female manual earnings, as appropriate.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardI will write to my right hon. Friend when the information requested is available.