§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single-parent families he estimates there are in the United Kingdom now and on 1 January of each of the past five years for which records are available; and in each case how many and what percentage of the parents are male and how many and what percentage are female; how many and what percentage are the result of broken marriages; and how many and what percentage are the mothers of illegitimate children.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation is available only in respect of Great Britain.
Taking account of results from the 1981 census and information from the general household survey the best estimates at present available of the numbers of one-parent families with dependent children are as follows:
Children born to single women are by definition illegitimate. No information is available about the proportion of other mothers who have illegitimate children.