§ Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the percentage of lone-parent families in the city of Manchester; and what is the comparable percentage for England and Wales.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 4 February 1980, Vol. 978, c. 78]: I regret that it is not possible to provide percentages in the form requested. However, in case the hon. Member considers 489W that the information may be of some help to him, a very broad indication of the relative proportions of one-parent families in the Manchester area and in England and Wales can be derived from child benefit records. When a child benefit claim is received from a married couple living together, the benefit can normally be cashed by either of them. The table below shows the percentages of child benefit recipients whose benefit was payable to only one person in December 1978 (the latest available date). Not all the people in this category were lone parents nor does it include all lone parents who were in receipt of child benefit.
England and Wales, 12 per cent.
Greater Manchester, 15 per cent.
Manchester Metropolitan District, 24 per cent.