HC Deb 05 February 1990 vol 166 cc531-2W
Sir Ian Gilmour

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms. Harman) of 15 December 1989,Official Report, columns 855–56, if he will publish the equivalent scales used for calculation of the equivalent incomes with (a) a married couple and (b) a single person as the reference point.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

[holding answer 1 February 1990]The information is held in the tables. These equivalence scales are the same as those used in "Households Below Average Income".

(i) Taking married couples as the reference point
Equivalence value
(1) If head of the household is married
Number of additional adults in the household
0 1.00
1 1.42
2 2.78
More than 2 where number of adults = n 1.78 +(0.361(n-2)
(2) If head of the household is single
Number of additional adults in the household
0 0.61
1 1.07
2 1.49
More than 2 where number of adults = n 1.49 +(0.361(n-2)
(3) Total number of children in household Age of child

Equivalence value
<2 0.09
2–4 0.18
5–7 0.21
8–10 0.23
11–12 0.25
13–15 0.27
>15 0.36
(The value is multiplied by the number of children in the age band.)
1 The total values, when added together, give the total equivalence scale for each family. This will always be the total of (1) or (2) plus (3). For example, a married couple with two children aged 9 and 11 would have an equivalence scale of (1.00+0.23 + 0.25)= 1.48.

(ii) Taking single person as the reference point
Equivalence value
(1) If head of the household is single
Number of additional adults in the household
0 1.00
1 1.75
2 2.44
more than 2
where number of adults = n 2.44 +(0.591(n-2)
(2) If head of the household is married
Number of additional adults in household
0 1.64
1 2.33
2 2.92
more than 2
where number of adults = n 2.92 + (0.591(n-2)
(3) Total number of children in household
Age of child
<2 0.15
2–4 0.30
5–7 0.34
8–10 0.38
11–12 0.41
13–15 0.44
>15 0.59
The value is multiplied by the number of children in the age band.
1 The total values, when added together, give the total equivalence scale for each family. This will always be the total of (1) or (2) plus (3). For example, a married couple with two children aged 9 and 11 would have an equivalence scale of (1.64 + 0.38 + 0.41) = 2.43.