§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures to show the number of households in Scotland where the adult income of the household was such that it fell below the poverty line as defined by the European Economic Commission in its report on social affairs.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherI assume the hon. Member if referring to a report on "Poverty in the kuropcan Community" which has recently been submitted to the European Commission. The report has not yet been released by the Commission, but when it is available and we have had a chance to study it I will write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures to show the average income of those in employment in Scotland in April 1980 and at the latest available date; if he will express the averages in terms of modality and if he will give the figures for (a) men aged 21 years and over and (b) women aged 18 years and over.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherInformation on income is not available in the form requested. But the average and median weekly earnings from the New Earnings Survey at April for 1980 and 1981 is set out in the table below.
Gross weekly earnings (£) of full-time employees whose pay was not affected by absence Men Women (aged 21 and over) (aged 18 and over) Average Median Average Median April 1980 123.1 111.3 74.7 69.0 April 1981 140.0 124.7 87.1 77.5