§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the Scottish population of 16 years and over receive any form of social security benefit payment or pension; and if he will make a statement containing numerical information on this matter.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardI have been asked to reply.
In 1988 about 2.5 million adults in Scotland (65 per cent.) were in receipt of some form of social security benefit. This figure includes both partners of all couples in receipt of benefit but excludes dependent young people aged 16 to 18 as well as children under 16. The total includes about 1.1 million adults in families receiving child benefit and about 800,000 pension recipients.
SourceAdministrative Statistics and the Family Expenditure Survey.