§ Mr. Jacques ArnoldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of one-parent families in the United Kingdom recorded by the most recent statistics; and what was the number recorded in 1971.
§ Mr. PortilloComparable information for the whole of the United Kingdom is not available. But within Great50W Britain there were an estimated 940,000 one-parent families in 1984 which is the lastest year for which the statistics are available. The estimated number in 1971 was 570,000. The definition used, and other particulars, are contained in an article in "Population Trends No. 45 (Autumn 1986)", a copy of which is in the Library.