§ Mr. CarttissTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the new statistics on households with below average incomes, as recommended in the technical report placed in the Library on 29 March; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloFollowing the recommendations in the report of the technical review of the DHSS low income statistics, which was placed in the Library on 29 March, I have today placed in the Library the first edition of the new series "Households below average income: a statistical analysis". The tables cover the years 1981, 1983 and 1985. In addition, I have also placed in the Library the final edition of the "Low Income Families" figures covering the same years.
The tables show that living standards have been rising significantly, and that those with the lowest incomes have shared in the improvements. Indeed, between 1981 and 1985 the average incomes of those in the bottom tenth rose by over 8 per cent.—well ahead of the average increases for the population as a whole.