§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 April,Official Report, columns 467–68, if he will now provide similar information regarding those living on incomes less than 50 per cent. of the national average in each of the same years.
§ Mr. JackInformation in precisely the form requested is available only for the years for which "Households Below Average Income"—HBAI—has been published. Other information is available for earlier years, but the methodologies and definitions used differ substantially and it is therefore not appropriate to make direct comparisons throughout the whole period.
It is also important to remember that real personal disposable income per head in the United Kingdom has risen substantially during this period. Consequently, the percentage of the population who were living on incomes below any constant threshold will show a very different picture. Thus, for example, the numbers of people living below 50 per cent. of the 1979 national average equivalised
Source: HBAI RoI RoI FES Report Income: Equivalised Household Household Household Measure: Household disposable Disposable Final Gross Unit analysed: Persons Household Household Household Coverage: Great Britain United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom Percentage with less than 50 per cent. mean income 1988 116.8 — — — 1987 14.3 — — — 1985 9.2 25 — — 1980 27.7 23 — — 1975 — 22 20 — 1970 — — 21 23 1965–66 — — — 20 1960–61 — — — 20 1 Source: Select Committee HBAI 2 Average of figures for 1979 and 1981