§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the total number of families with children whose taxable incomes are below the income tax thresholds; how many are in paid work; how many are receiving income support; and how many are receiving invalidity benefits.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 17 January 1990]: The number of families with children in 1987, the latest year for which information is available, whose taxable income was below the income tax threshold was about 1.5 million. Of these, 300,000 were in paid work, 100,000 received invalidity benefits and all but about 30,000 received supplementary benefit.
Notes:
(1) Paid work is defined as where either the head or the spouse earns more than £4.00 per week.
(2) Invalidity benefits included are:
Invalidity pension/allowance
Non-contributory Invalidity pension
Statutory sick pay
Sickness/industrial injuries benefit
Source: 1987 Family Expenditure Survey.