HC Deb 24 July 2000 vol 354 cc485-7W
Mr. Berry

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the average annual net disposable income was, at 2000 prices, calculated on the basis of Table 8.2 in the annual reports of the Family Expenditure Survey, in the

Figure 1—Annual disposable and gross income for the lowest and highest income quintiles in the UK for the calendar years 1990 to 1993 and the financial years 1994–95 to 1998–99
Lowest 20 per cent. Highest 20 per cent.
Disposable income (£) Percentage change Gross income (£) Percentage change Disposable income (£) Percentage change Gross income (£) Percentage change
19901 3,560 0 3,790 0 31,100 0 39,900 0
19911 3,900 10 3,950 4 33,500 8 42,900 8
19921 3,730 -4 3,790 -4 31,400 -6 40,900 -5
19931 3,900 5 3,940 4 32,700 4 42,800 5
1994–95 4,060 4 4,110 4 33,500 2 44,400 4
1995–96 4,290 6 4,350 6 34,300 2 45,500 2
1996–97 4,360 2 4,410 1 36,800 7 47,800 5
1997–98 4,520 4 4,580 4 39,200 7 51,000 7
1998–99 4,780 6 4,890 7 42,000 7 55,000 8
1 In 1994–95 the Family Expenditure Survey moved from a calendar year basis to a financial year basis

Source:

ONS, Family Expenditure Survey 1990 to 1993 and 1994–95 to 1998–99

lowest and highest quintiles in each year from 1990 to 1999, only for households with children in those quintiles; and how many and what proportion of the population households in each quintile represented; [131960]

(2) what the average annual (a) net disposable and (b) gross income was of the lowest and highest quintiles in each of the years from 1990 to 1999, calculated on the basis of Table 8.2 in the annual report of the Family Expenditure Survey, but for Great Britain only, and showing, for the two quintiles, the percentage gain or loss over the preceding year. [131959]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Roger Berry, dated 24 July 2000: The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning net disposable and gross income. The first question concerned average annual net disposable and gross income for 1990 to 1999 for Britain only in the highest and lowest quintile groups on the basis of Table 8.2 in the annual report of the Family Expenditure Survey (131959). The second question concerned annual net disposable income over the same period at 2000 prices in respect of households with children, for the same quintiles (131960). In answer to your first question the information readily available relates to the United Kingdom, from Table 8.3 in the ONS annual publication "Family Spending 1998–99" and equivalent tables in the reports for earlier years. They are shown in the attached table at figure 1. The United Kingdom is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while Great Britain does not include Northern Ireland. The equivalent information for Great Britain for the complete run of years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However the figures for Great Britain for 1998–99 are very close to those for the UK. They are shown in the attached table at figure 2. Like all estimates from sample surveys, the figures in this answer are subject to sampling variability. For the lowest quintile this is generally about plus or minus 1.6% and for the highest quintile about plus or minus 3.5%. Estimates of percentage change from one year to another are subject to higher sampling error: plus or minus 2 percentage points for the lowest quintile and plus or minus 5 percentage points for the highest. For the highest quintile, for example, an estimated change of 7% indicates that the true change is unlikely to be outside the range 2% to 12%. The sampling variability quoted is in the 90% confidence interval. In answer to your second question the information requested requires a special computing run for each year and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Figure 2—Disposable and gross income for the lowest and highest quintile groups in Great Britain, 1998–99
(£)
Disposable income Gross income
1998–99
Lowest 20 per cent. 4,790 4,870
Highest 20 per cent. 42,000 55,100

Source:

ONS, Family Expenditure Survey 1998–99