Household Incomes (Hansard, 15 November 1989)

§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard

[holding answer 8 November 1989]: The available information, which is adjusted for household size and composition, is set out in the table. Cumulative percentage changes in real equivalised household incomes by deciles of all individuals are set out in table 1. Tables 2 to 6 show what the figures in table 1 represent in terms of changes in real income for various household compositions.

Deciles of individuals in households—Great Britain
Table 1
Percentage changes in living standards (real equivalised household incomes) by decile of individuals in households
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-2.2	-1.6	5.9
2	-0.4	1.4	5.0
3	-1.3	0.3	3.4
4	-1.4	-0.5	3.6
5	-1.1	-0.7	4.1
6	-0.7	-0.2	5.7
7	-0.7	-0.1	6.2
8	0.7	0.8	8.7
9	2.7	3.1	10.3
Highest	11.5	10.1	18.2
Total	2.2	2.5	8.8

Table 2
Money change in real household incomes for a single person household—1985 prices by deciles of the whole population £ per week
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-0.70	-0.60	2.00
2	-0.20	0.70	2.30
3	-0.70	0.20	1.90
4	-0.80	-0.30	2.10
5	-0.70	-0.50	2.80
6	-0.50	-0.10	4.20
7	-0.60	-0.10	5.20
8	0.60	0.70	8.30
9	3.00	3.50	11.40
Highest	18.00	16.00	28.40
Total	1.70	2.00	6.90

Notes:

1. Income is defined as income from all sources less income tax and national insurance contributions.

2. The incomes of all individuals within households have been adjusted for the size and composition of those households.

3. The equivalence scales used to adjust for household size and composition use as their basis the income for a single person household. In other words, a single person household has been attributed an equivalence scale of one so that the income of these households is the same both with and without equivalisation.

314W

Table 3—Money change in real household incomes for a two person household—(married couple) 1985 prices by deciles of the whole population £ per week
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-1.20	-0.90	3.30
2	-0.30	1.10	3.70
3	-1.20	0.30	3.10
4	-1.40	-0.50	3.50
5	-1.20	-0.80	4.60
6	-0.80	-0.20	6.90
7	-1.00	-0.20	8.60
8	1.00	1.20	13.60
9	4.80	5.80	18.80
Highest	29.50	26.30	46.60
Total	2.80	3.20	11.30

Notes:

1. Income is defined as income from all sources less income tax and national insurance contributions.

2. The incomes of all individuals within households have been adjusted for the size and composition of those households.

3. The equivalence scales used to adjust for household size and composition use as their basis the income for a household consisting of a married couple only. In other words, a married couple household has been attributed an equivalence scale of one so that the income of these households is the same both with and without equivalisation.

Table 4—Money change in real household incomes for a household consisting of a married couple plus one child—1985 prices by deciles of the whole population £ per week
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-1.50	-1.10	4.00
2	-0.40	1.30	4.60
3	-1.40	0.30	3.80
4	-1.70	-0.60	4.30
5	-1.50	-1.00	5.70
6	-1.00	-0.30	8.50
7	-1.20	-0.20	10.60
8	1.30	1.50	16.70
9	6.00	7.10	23.10
Highest	36.30	32.30	57.30
Total	3.50	3.90	13.83

Table 5—Money change in real household incomes for a household consisting of a married couple plus two children—1985 prices by deciles of the whole population £ per week
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-1.70	-1.30	4.80
2	-0.40	1.60	5.40
3	-1.70	0.40	4.50
4	-2.00	-0.70	5.10
5	-1.80	-1.20	6.80
6	-1.20	-0.30	10.10
7	-1.40	-0.20	12.50
8	1.50	1.70	19.80
9	7.10	8.40	27.40
Highest	43.10	38.30	68.10
Total	4.20	4.70	16.40

Table 6—Money change in real household incomes for a household consisting of a married couple plus four children—1985 prices by deciles of the whole population £ per week
Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Lowest	-2.30	-1.80	6.30
2	-0.60	2.10	7.10
3	-2.20	0.50	5.90
4	-2.70	-0.90	6.60
5	-2.30	-1.50	8.90
6	-1.60	-.40	13.20
7	-1.90	-0.30	16.50
8	2.00	2.30	26.10
9	9.30	11.10	36.00

315W

Decile	1979–81	1979–83	1979–85
Highest	56.70	50.40	89.50
Total	5.50	6.20	21.60