§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average disposable income at(a) actual and (b) April 1993 prices per adult, distinguishing those under and those over the pensionable ages, and per child applying the appropriate equivalence scale according to age, for the two lowest decile groups in the latest households below average income analysis for 1979, 1988–89 and 1990–91, before and after housing costs.
§ Mr. BurtThe information is in the tables.
The results do not show what has happened to the income of the groups over time. They reflect changes in composition of the bottom and second deciles (see note 2).
Median net equivalised household income in the two lowest whole population deciles for pensioners adults, non-pensioner adults and children, 1979, 1988–89 and 1990–91 in actual prices1 and in April 1993 prices Pensioner adult (equivalised £ per week) Decile 1979 1988–89 1990–91 Actual prices Bottom BHC 35 72 82 AHC 32 57 63 Second BHC 42 89 104 AHC 38 74 82 April 1993 prices Bottom BHC 89 92 90 AHC 76 73 71 Second BHC 106 114 115 AHC 91 94 92 1 Actual prices for 1979, 1988–89 and 1990–91 refer to the middle of the period covered; that is June 1979, January 1989 and January 1991 respectively.
Non-pensioner adult (equivalised £ per week) Decile 1979 1988–89 1990–91 Actual prices Bottom BHC 32 66 72 AHC 29 51 51 Second BHC 43 89 103 AHC 39 73 81 April 1993 prices Bottom BHC 82 83 79 AHC 68 65 58 Second BHC 108 113 113 AHC 93 93 91
Dependent child (equivalised £ per week) Decile 1979 1988–89 1990–91 Actual prices Bottom BHC 33 69 77 AHC 30 54 59 Second BHC 43 89 102 AHC 39 73 81 April 1993 prices Bottom BHC 84 88 84 AHC 70 69 66 Second BHC 109 113 112 AHC 92 93 91 Notes:
1. The estimates have been calculated by taking the median income 715W of pensioners, non-pensioners and children in each of the two bottom deciles of the total Households Below Average Income distribution.
2 The HBAI publication does not present results in the form requested here. The results in the form requested cannot be interpreted as indicating the incomes of these groups have gone up or down over the period. Any income changes will reflect shifts of the number of people in each group—pensioners/nonpensioners/children—from one decile group to another. For example, if pensioners incomes remained unchanged but there was a shift of pensioners from the top of the bottom docile into the second decile, the median income of the pensioners in the bottom decile in these tables would show a fall. Conversely, if pensioners incomes again remain the same, but there was a shift of pensioners from the second decile into the bottom decile, the median income of the pensioners in the bottom decile in these tables would show a rise. But in both these examples the real incomes amongst pensioners did not change. For information on changes in income of low-income pensioners and non-pensioners see Table A5 of HBAI 1979–1990–91.
3 All estimates are subject to sampling error which may affect the validity of comparisons between groups at a point in time and over time. More information about sampling errors can be found in appendix 5 of "Households Below Average Income", a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the equivalent monetary value in pound per week at April 1993 prices, following table A2 of the latest HBAI report, in 1979, 1988–89 and 1990–91, before and after housing costs, of the decile medians of the two poorest decile groups, the poorest quintile and the total population mean of(a) a single adult, (b) a couple with no children, (c) a couple with one child aged three, (d) a couple with one child aged 16, (e) a couple with two children aged three and eight, (f) a couple with three children aged three, eight and 11, (g) a couple with three children aged 11, 16 and 17 years, (h) a single adult with children, (i) all households with children equivalised and (j) all households equivalised.
§ Mr. BurtThe information has been placed in the Library.
The estimates follow table A2 of Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1979–1990–91. It is not possible to give equivalent monetary values for the requested groups (h),(i) and (j) as the calculation of these figures is dependent on the number and age of children in each household. The money values for the bottom quintiles for family groups is provided in table A5 of HBAI.
The information that can be provided is subject to the same qualifications as HBAI 1979–1990–91, in particular paragraph 1.4 which points out that the results do not track what happens to a particular set of individuals and are as likely to be influenced by changes in the mix of groups as changes in income levels within each group.