§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report (a) the numbers currently eligible for family income supplement and (b) the numbers who will be eligible for family income supplement after July 1976.
§ Mr. OrmeEstimates of the number of families eligible to receive family income supplement are based on limited information using the Family Expenditure Survey and are subject to wide margins of error. Using 1974 data—the latest available—it is estimated that about three-quarters of those eligible were in receipt of the supplement.
Almost 59,000 families were receiving family income supplement in February 1976 and it is estimated that the number will rise to 85,000 immediately after July 1976.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of claimants for the family income supplement passports scheme for 161W free school meals, free dental and optical care, free prescriptions and free welfare foods and milk, respectively, for each years since the scheme was introduced.
§ Mr. OrmeThe numbers of such claimants for exemption from dental and and optical charges were:
Year Dental Optical 1971 1,193 1,011 (from 24.3.71) 1972 6,512 4,024 1973 7,259 3,613 1974 6,449 2,917(to 31.10.74) Following the introduction on 1st November 1974 of the new scheme for remission of these charges, separate figures for FIS recipients are not available.
Numbers of beneficiaries receiving free welfare foods and milk under the FIS passport arrangements at the end of each year since 1971 were as follows:
(i) The following table shows the FIS prescribed income levels as a percentage of average gross earnings of male manual workers at the introduction of the scheme in 1971 and at each date the levels have increased: Prescribed income levels as percentage of gross earnings—Families with: Date Average Weekly gross earnings* 1 child 2 children 4 children £ August 1971 … … … … 30.60 59 65 78 April 1972 … … … … 32.89 61 67 79 April 1973 … … … … 37.85 55 62 75 October 1973 … … … … 40.92 53 59 71 July 1974 … … … … 46.25 54 61 74 July 1975 … … … … 57.77 54 60 73 *These estimates are based on information on the average weekly earnings of male manual workers aged 21 and over in all industries and services covered by the Department of Employment's regular annual October enquiry into earnings and hours of manual workers. Figures for months other than October have been obtained by interpolation using the Department of Employment's monthly index of average earnings. (ii) In the table below the FIS prescribed income levels are shown as a percentage of the net incomes received by families with one, two and four children based on the assumptions that the families: (a) have gross earnings as shown in the above table, (b) are receiving basic tax allowances only, (c) consist of man and wife with 1 child: aged under 11 2 children: both aged under 11 4 children: 2 aged under 11, 2 aged 11–15. Family allowances are included in net income as they are taken into account in calculating tax: net income is taken as gross earnings plus family allowances less income tax and national insurance contributions.
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1-Child family 2-Child family 4-Child family (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Date Average net weekly income Prescribed income level as percentage of (2) Average net weekly income Prescribed income level as percentage of (4) Average net weekly income Prescribed income level as percentage of (6) £ £ £ August 1971 … 24.30 74 25.77 78 29.22 82 April 1972 … 26.66 75 28.13 78 31.59 82 April 1973 … 29.89 70 31.33 75 34.75 82 October 1973 … 31.86 67 33.30 72 36.72 79 July 1974 … 35.19 71 36.99 76 41.16 83 July 1975 … 42.41 74 44.66 78 49.61 85
1971 59,000 1972 79,000 1973 77,000 1974 51,000 1975 37,000 Information is not available about numbers of persons obtaining free prescriptions or free school meals under the FIS passport arrangements.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the value of the family income supplement eligibility levels for a family with one, two and four children expressed as a percentage of (i) average gross industrial earnings and (ii) average net industrial earnings for each years since the scheme came into operation.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what have been the prescribed income levels for a family income supplement for one child, two child, and four child families, respectively,
1-Child family 2-Child family 4-child family Date Prescribed amount Tax threshold Prescribed amount Tax threshold Prescribed amount Tax threshold £ £ £ £ £ £ August 1971 … 18.00 15.33 20.00 18.12 24.00 24.94 April 1972 … 20.00 18.67 22.00 21.46 26.00 28.29 April 1973 … 21.00 18.75 23.50 21.44 28.50 28.17 October 1973 … 21.50 18.75 24.00 21.44 29.00 28.17 July 1974 … 25.00 21.25 28.00 24.87 34.00 33.44 July 1975 … 31.50 22.98 35.00 26.60 42.00 35.17 Notes:
(1) Tax thresholds assume that the families consist of a man and wife, and children aged:
1-child family: aged under 11,
2-child family: both aged under 11,
4-child family: two aged under 11, two aged 11–15.
(2) Where appropriate, the tax allowances have been reduced by clawback on family allowances.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Offiial Report the awards under the family income supplement scheme analysed by type of family and total income of family for 1973, 1974 and 1975 as set out in Table 32.36 of Social Trends 1973.
AWARDS CURRENT AT 28TH OCTOBER 1975, ANALYSED BY TYPE OF FAMILY AND TOTAL INCOME OF FAMILY AT DATE OF CLAIM Type of family at date of claim Type of family £ All families Two-parent families Motherless families Fatherless families All ranges of income … … … … 62 29 1 32 Under 18.00 … … … … 7 2 — 4 18.00–20.99 … … … … 6 2 — 5 21.00–23.99 … … … … 9 3 — 7 24.00–26.99 … … … … 10 4 — 7 27.00–29.99 … … … … 10 4 — 5 30.00–32.99 … … … … 8 5 — 3 33.00–35.99 … … … … 5 4 — 1 36.00–38.99 … … … … 3 3 — — 39.00–41.99 … … … … 2 2 — — 42.00–44.99 … … … … 1 1 — — 45.00 or more … … … … 1 1 — — Source: 10 per cent. sample. Due to rounding, the sum of component parts may not equal the total.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons are claiming the family income supplement of respectively lop to 99p, £1 to £1.99, £2 to £2.99, £3 to £3.99, £4
164Wtogether with the tax threshold for these families, for each year since the scheme was introduced.
§ Mr. OrmeThe table referred to is published in Social Security Statistics and my hon. Friend will find the information for 1973 and 1974 in the editions for those years. The information for 1975 is given below:
to £4.99, £5 to £5.99, and £6 plus; and, in each case, what is the total number of persons claiming and estimated to be eligible, respectively.
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§ Mr. OrmeThe following is the information requested as at December 1975:
Weekly Amount Number of families Less than £1 6,000 £1.00–£1.99 9,000 £2.00–£2.99 8,000 £3.00–£3.99 8,000 £4.00–£4.99 9,000 £5.00–£5.99 7,000 £6.00 or more 14,000 Total recipients 60,000* Estimates of the number of families eligible to receive family income supplement are based on very small samples taken from the Family Expenditure Survey and are subject to wide margins of error. It is estimated that in 1974 the number receiving the supplement represented about three-quarters of the number eligible; no later or more detailed estimates are available.
*Due to rounding, the sum of the components does not equal the total.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number eligible for the number claiming the family income supplement for each year since the scheme was introduced; and if he will distinguish between one- and two-parent families.
§ Mr. OrmeThe number of families in receipt of family income supplement in December of each year was as follows:
Two-parent families One-parent families 1971 47,000 24,000 1972 48,000 34,000 1973 50,000 45,000 1974 32,000 38,000 1975 28,000 32,000 Estimates of the number of families who are entitled to family income supplement are based on limited information—using the Family Expenditure Survey—and are subject to wide margins of error. It is estimated that in 1972 about half of the families eligible were receiving the supplement. This proportion increased to about two-thirds in 1973 and to about three-quarerters in 1974. The data shows a slightly better percentage take-up for two-parent families than for one-parent families.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what have been the amounts paid out under the family income supplement scheme for each year 166W since the scheme was introduced; and if he will divide this sum between one- and two-parent families for each year since 1971.
§ Mr. OrmeIt is estimated that the amounts paid out for each calendar year since the start of the scheme are as follows:
Year All Two-parent families £ millions one-parent families 1971 2.3 1.3 1.0 1972 9.2 5.1 4.1 1973 12.0 6.0 6.0 1974 12.2 5.4 6.8 1975 11.4 5.1 6.3