§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average household(a) debt per quarter and (b) monthly income was in each quarter since 2000, broken down by region. [143124]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Malcolm Bruce dated 10 December 2003:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on a regional breakdown of average household debt per quarter and household monthly income.
There are no quarterly estimates of household debt available at regional level. However, the following table shows national estimates of average debt levels and monthly incomes for households in each year since 1997. These estimates are derived from the national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors, and are taken from an answer to a previous written question (Official Report, 16 July 2003, column 303W).
493W
£ Year Average Household Debt (£) during year
1Average Household Income per month
21997 24,500 1,950 1998 26,000 2,000 1999 28,000 2,100 2000 30,600 2,200 2001 33,500 2,350 2002 37,500 2,400 1 Rounded to nearest £500 2 Rounded to nearest £50 ONS does not produce monthly or quarterly data for income by region. The most recent annual estimates for total household income and gross disposable household income for the countries and regions of the UK are available for 1995–1999. Figures at regional, sub-regional and local area levels (NUTS 1, 2 and 3 respectively) were published in a news release on 26 March 2002, available on the National Statistics website at: http://www. statisties.gov.uk/pdfdir/reg0302.pdf