§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing his latest estimate of the number of families (a) eligible and (b) in receipt of family income supplement, in each year since 1978, distinguishing between one and two-parent families.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe following table shows the numbers of families in receipt of family income supplement—FIS—at the end of each year from 1978 to 1980, and at the latest date in 1981 for which figures are available. My hon. Friend will appreciate that these numbers do not remain constant throughout any year.
Numbers of Families in Receipt of FIS Great Britain
Date One-parent families Two-parent families All families 26 December 1978 37,130 43,690 80,820 25 December 1979 44,580 36,190 80,770 30 December 1980 53,190 44,170 97,360 31 March 1981 53,790 50,200 103,990 I regret that information is not available on the numbers of families eligible for family income supplement in the same period. However, my hon. Friend may find it helpful to refer to my reply to the right hon. the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) and the hon. Members for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) and West Stirlingshire (Mr. Canavan) on 10 June—[Vol. 6, c. 133–34.] The note on the family finances survey, which was promised in my reply, has now been placed in the Library of the House. It is estimated that, over the period of the survey, from October 1978 to September 1979, there was an average of about 73,000 families receiving FIS where the head of the family was working for an employer. About half of those families who were thought to be eligible for FIS were one-parent families.