§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures for estimated domestic fuel expenditure by households on income support giving figures separately for expenditure on(a) oil, (b) piped gas, (c) bottled gas, (d) electricity and (e) coal.
§ Mr. Burt[holding answer 26 March 1993]Estimates of average reported fuel expenditure by households headed by an income support (IS) recipient are given in the table. The estimates will include cases where the household fuel expenditure is partly incurred on behalf of other family units not in receipt of IS within the same household. IS recipients who are not heads of households are not included. The estimates are based on the combined 1990 and 1991 Family Expenditure Surveys and so reflect average levels of expenditure for that two-year period.
Average weekly expenditure on fuel by households headed by a recipient of IS, from the 1990 and 1991 Family Expenditure Surveys £ All domestic fuel 11.00 Of which: (b) piped gas 3.70 (d) electricity 6.00 (e) coal, coke 0.80 The number of IS households reporting expenditure on oil is too small for a reliable estimate to be given. A separate estimate of expenditure on bottled gas is not available from the Family Expenditure Survey data. Both these items, together with other minor fuels, are included in the estimate of total fuel expenditure.