§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report how many heads of households were living on incomes below the appropriate family income supplement level for each year since 1972.
§ Mr. OrmeOn the assumption that the hon. Member is referring to the numbers of families normally in full-time employment with gross incomes below the appropriate prescribed amounts for family income supplement (FIS) but not receiving FIS, the information requested is as follows:
Year Numbers of families 1972 … … About 80,000 1973 … … About 50,000 1974 … … About 20,000 1975 … … About 20,000 These estimates are derived from a DHSS analysis of the incomes and other information recorded by respondents in the Family Expenditure Survey. They are subject to considerable uncertainty be-because of small sample numbers and deficiencies in the information available for determining eligibility for FIS.
An estimate for 1976 is not yet available.