§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide an estimate of the number of civil servants currently caught in the poverty trap.
§ Dr. BoysonI regret that available data do not allow a reliable estimate to be provided, but the number is likely to be very small in relation to the number of civil servants in post.
§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the number of civil servants currently in full-time work whose wage levels entitle them to receive family income supplement.
§ Dr. BoysonA number cannot be estimated reliably because entitlement depends on factors other than wages. In August 1983 about 19,000 families out of a total of approximately 200,000 families receiving family income supplement had a head employed in the public sector. This figure includes those employed by local authorities, the NHS and public corporations as well as by the Civil Service.