§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families were or are(a) entitled to and (b) receiving family credit in 1988 and 1989; and what is his estimate of the number of families who will be entitled to it in 1990.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardIn 1988 the number of families eligible for family credit was about 500,000 amongst employees: information covering the self-employed is not available. Estimates of the eligible population in 1989 and 1990 cannot be made until information from the family expenditure surveys for those years becomes available.
During 1988 the average number of families receiving family credit was 277,000, of which 253,000 were employee cases. The latest information for 1989 is for July when the total family credit caseload was over 320,000.