§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average pre-tax personal income for the latest year for which figures are available in the United Kingdom, the West Midland region and North Staffordshire; and if he will list the counties in the West Midland region where the average pre-tax personal income is lower than in North Staffordshire
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe figures of income per head of population for 1969–70 are:
£ United Kingdom … … 528 West Midlands Region … … 540 Staffordshire … … 507 No figures are available for North Staffordshire as the statistics are not broken down below counties but the figures for the counties which make up the West Midlands Region are as follows:
£ Herefordshire … … … 472 Shropshire … … … 439 Staffordshire … … … 507 Warwickshire … … … 594 Worcestershire … … … 524 NOTES:
1. The figures are derived from the (as yet unpublished) Survey of Personal Incomes for 1969–70 which excludes non-taxable incomes such as National Insurance benefits income in kind and incomes below £330 per annum. The Survey of Personal Incomes for 1969–70, unlike earlier surveys, used the place of residence of the taxpayer in the regional analysis and consequently the figures for 1969–70 are not strictly comparable with those from the earlier series.
2. The population figures used relate to mid-1969 and include all individuals, whether they have an income or not.