§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of household income is spent on running a car by those in the lowest income decile. [116274]
§ John HealeyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Robert Walter, dated 3 June 2003:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on the percentage of household income spent on running a car by those in the lowest income decile. I am replying in his absence.(116274)Estimates have been provided for the lowest income quintile because of the relatively small sample size for the lowest decile and data quality problems because income and expenditure data recorded in the EFS are not fully compatible because they are recorded in different ways. Households were ranked by equivalised disposable income.The percentage of gross household income spent on purchasing a car or van on average by households in the lowest income quintile was 5 per cent. and on running a vehicle was 10 per cent. Separate figures, for purchasing a car or a van and for running a vehicle, have been supplied because it is not possible to supply estimates solely on the money spent on running a car. In particular, expenditure on petrol, diesel and other motor oils cannot be estimated solely for cars.The estimates given are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02" which was produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and published on the ONS website on 11 April 2003 and in Economic Trends in the May 2003 edition. They are based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS).