§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many children are living in households whose income is below half the national average; and how many of these are aged(a) 0 to 4, (b) 5 to 10, (c) 11 to 16 and (d) 17 years or above in respect of (i) one and (ii) two parent families; [40486]
(2) how many benefit units containing dependent children are living in households whose income is below half the national average; and in what proportion of these is the youngest child aged (a) 0 to 4, (b) 5 to 10, (c) 11 to 16 and (d) 17 years or above in respect of (i) one and (ii) two parent families. [40487]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe information is set out in the tables.
Distribution of children in Great Britain in households whose income is below half the national average by age and family type Thousand Before housing costs After housing costs Age of child One parent family Two parent family One parent family Two parent family 0 to 4 190 500 460 710 5 to 10 370 720 640 900 11 to 16 290 620 460 740 17 or over 30 70 40 90 All children 870 1,920 1,590 2,430 There are an estimated 2.8 million and 4.0 million children in Great Britain living in households, including those headed by a self-employed person, whose income is below half the national average before and after housing costs respectively.
Proportion of benefit units containing children in Great Britain living in households whose income is below half the national average by age of youngest child and family type Percentage Before housing costs After housing costs Age of youngest child One parent family Two parent family One parent family Two parent family 0 to 4 37 42 45 46 5 to 10 41 34 37 32 11 to 16 20 22 17 19 17 or over 2 2 1 2 All benefit units (numbers) 420,000 850,000 840,000 1,110,000 There are an estimated 1.3 and 1.9 million benefit units containing children in Great Britain living in households, including those headed by a self-employed person, whose income is below half the national average before and after housing costs respectively.
375W
Distribution of children in Great Britain living in households whose income is below half the national average by age and family type Thousand Before housing costs After housing costs Age of child One parent family Two parent family One parent family Two parent family 0 to 4 140 360 420 540 5 to 10 310 520 610 680 11 to 16 240 460 430 540 17 or over 30 50 30 50 All children 720 1,390 1,500 1,820 There are an estimated 2.1 and 3.3 million children in Great Britain living in households, excluding those headed by a self-employed person, whose income is below half the national average before and after housing costs respectively.
Proportion of benefit units containing children in Great Britain living in households whose income is below half the national average by age of youngest child and family type Percentage Before housing costs After housing costs Age of youngest child One parent family Two parent family One parent family Two parent family 0 to 4 35 44 45 49 5 to 10 43 34 37 32 11 to 16 20 20 17 17 17 or over 3 2 1 2 All benefit units (numbers) 340,000 590,000 790,000 810,000 There are an estimated 0.9 and 1.6 million benefit units containing children in Great Britain living in households, excluding those headed by a self-employed person, whose income is below half the national average before and after housing costs respectively.
Notes:
- 1. Figures are for 1995–96.
- 2. The data come from the Department's Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and covering Great Britain. All results are subject to sampling error, and numbers may not sum due to rounding.
- 3. Income definition is that used in the published series from FRS based Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data.
- 4. The reasons for using FRS based data are that time series information is not required and the FRS has a large enough sample to provide robust information.
- 5. The income measure used is weekly net (disposable) equivalised income. The figures are given both before and after housing costs in line with usual HBAI practice.
- 6. The income measures for the self-employed are inherently uncertain, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution. For this reason, results are presented both including and excluding the full-time self-employed. The latter excludes children in benefit units which contain one or more adults who normally work self-employed for 30 or more hours a week.
- 7. A child is defined as an individual aged under 16 or an unmarried 16 to 18 year old on a course up to and including 'A' level standard.
- 8. Numbers are given to the nearest 10,000 but because the figures come from a sample survey they are not accurate to this degree.