HC Deb 25 June 1984 vol 62 cc353-4W
Sir Brandon Rhys Williams

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children in the United Kingdom live in families dependent on (a) family income supplement and (b) supplementary benefit; what percentage of all children in the United Kingdom the total of these two figures represents; and what were the comparable figures in 1974 and 1979.

Mr. Newton

The information requested is shown in the table:

(000's)
1974 1979 1982
(a) Receiving family income supplement 201 204 394
(b) Receiving supplementary benefit 917 1,019 1,853
(c) Receiving either family income supplement or supplementary benefit 1,118 1,223 2,247

(000's)
1974 1979 1982
Total (c) as a percentage of all children in United Kingdom 7½ 9 17

Notes:

(1) Figures relate to December of each year.

(2) The latest figure for children in families receiving supplementary benefit is December 1982. The latest figure for children in families receiving family income supplement is 422,000 and relates to February 1984.