§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the basis for his estimate of £4.50 as the average weekly cost of fares to work.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe estimate was made for the purposes of the April 1981 tax-benefit model tables. As my hon. Friend knows, these tables illustrate the financial position of hypothetical families. The tables have been published and a copy placed in the Library of the House.
The estimate was based on information collected in the family expenditure survey and the 1978–79 national travel survey. The figure produced was then updated to its 1981 equivalent, using the fares sub-component of the retail prices index.
It is important to note that the estimate of £4.50 relates solely to the weekly cost of travelling to and from work on public transport for those heads of households, in full-time work, who use public transport for at least seven journeys a week. Thus it is not an average for all workers. It does not include those who are not heads of households, or those who use other forms of transport or those who incur no travelling expenses.