§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children were living in poverty, as defined by(a) his Department and (b) the World Health Organisation, in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. BurtNo Government in the United Kingdom have ever accepted that it is possible to identify a single simple measure to define poverty in any meaningful way.
Statistics on the distribution of household incomes, including those for children, can be found in "Households Below Average Income" 1979 to 1991–92, published on 14 July 1994, a copy of which is in the Library.