§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the real net weekly spending power, expressed in 1955 prices, for the years 1955, 1965, 1975 and each year since then as available of the following households: (a) at the lowest decile of net household income, (b) at the last quarter of net household income and (c) at the mean of net household income.
§ Mr. Ridley [pursuant to his reply, 9 February 1982, c. 324]Data for years before 1971 are not readily available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The following figures are based on the net incomes of the households participating in the family expenditure surveys for the respective years.
The trends are affected by the variation over time in the proportions of households in the United Kingdom of various compositions, as well as by sampling variation.
Net household income* at 1975 prices† (£ per week)
Household ranked by net income Mean Bottom decile Bottom quartile Median 1971 17.70 30.50 49.10 53.90 1975 19.30 32.30 53.10 57.90 1976 19.70 31.70 51.50 56.60 1977 19.20 31.30 51.60 56.30 1978 20.60 33.10 55.20 60.30 1979 19.80 31.90 56.20 61.10 †1,980 20.10 33.50 57.50 63.20 * Gross income less income tax and national insurance contributions. Rounded to the nearest 10p.
† Current values divided by the implied household expenditure deflator (1975=1).
Not previously published. The 1980 Family Expenditure Survey Report will be published shortly.
SourceFamily Expenditure Surveys.