§ Mr. Squireasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many families with children and how many children are dependent on supplementary benefit; how many of these families have a child aged under 5 years and how many children aged under 5 years are in these families; and if he will estimate the figures for the benefit year 1981–82.
§ Mrs. ChalkerFollowing is the information relating to families receiving supplementary benefit at 3 December 1980.
Thousands Families with children 580 Number of children 1,125 Families with children under 5 279 Number of children under 5 358 Source: Annual Statistical Enquiry, December 1980.
216WI cannot offer reliable corresponding estimates for 1981–82.
§ Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed claimants of supplementary benefit have been in receipt of benefit for over a year; how many of these claimants have children; how many children there are in total in the families concerned; and if he will give an estimate of what these figures will be on average in the benefit year 1981–82.
§ Mrs. ChalkerFollowing is the information relating to unemployed claimants and their families who had been receiving supplementary benefit for over a year at 3 December 1980:
Thousands Number of claimants 227 Families with children 63 Number of children 148 Source: Annual Statistical Enquiry, December 1980.
Note: The figures do not include a small number of one-parent families headed by women who have chosen to register for work and have been receiving supplementary benefit for a year or more at 3 December 1980.
I cannot offer reliable corresponding estimates for 1981–82.