§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many families are at present in receipt of £5 per week family income supplement.
§ Mr. DeanI regret that this information is not yet available. I expect to have it within a few days, and I will then write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many more families he estimates will become entitled to family income supplement as a result of this month's upgrading; and how much more in real terms he estimates the average family in receipt of family income supplement will now receive compared to the time of the last upgrading.
§ Mr. DeanIn the last few months before the uprating on 4th April the estimated number of families with incomes within the qualifying levels for family income supplement was estimated to be 100,000 in round terms. The number of eligible families in the period following the uprating is thought to have returned to approximately the same level as estimated in the early months of the scheme—that is, about 160,000. Both these figures are subject to wide margins of error. The information requested in the second part of the hon. Member's Question is not yet available; I expect to have it within the next few days, and I will then write to him.