§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, at November 1979, how many one-parent families on supplementary benefit appear in each of the other categories in the standard statistical breakdown; and what is the reason of their inclusion there.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe numbers of one-parent families appearing in each group of the standard statistical breakdown at November 1979 are as follows:
Recipients of supplementary pensions: 1.Retirement pensioners and national insurance widows aged 60 or over 3,000 2.Others 2,000 Recipients of supplementary allowances: 3.Unemployed with contributory benefit 2,000 4.Unemployed without contributory benefit 5,000 5.Sick and disabled with contributory benefit 1,000 6.Sick and disabled without contributory benefit 2,000 7.National insurance widows under age 60 4,000 8.0ne-parent families not included in other groups 304,000 9.Others 2,000 The statistical classification of recipients is designed to identify certain characteristics such as those who receive a national insurance benefit and reason for entitlement. Where a recipient's characteristics fit more than one statistical group, a particular order is followed to achieve consistency in the figures. One-parent families without charateristics appropriate to the first seven groups in the table are classified in groups eight or nine according to whether the youngest child is under 16, giving them title to supplementary benfit—group eight—or over 16— group nine.