§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the latest available figures for the number of(a) one-parent families headed by a woman, (b) one-parent families headed by a man and (c) two-parent families who rely on (i) state benefits, (ii) earnings from employment, (iii) maintenance payments and (iv) other items as their main source of income.
§ 4. Mrs. Gillian ShephardMany families have income from more than one source. The estimates contained in the table are therefore based on families' main source of income.
Estimated numbers of lone parents and two parent families by main source of income Great Britain Main source of income Lone parent families Two parent families Earnings 280,000 4,890,000 State Benefits 700,000 720,000 Maintenance 40,000 20,000 Other items 20,000 60,000 Source:
Family Expenditure Survey 1987. This is a sample survey and may be subject to sampling error. Estimates are approximate only.
The Family Expenditure Survey sample size is small and does not support a reliable analysis of lone parent families separately for families headed by a man and those headed by a woman. Information is therefore for all lone parent families.
Notes:
Earnings: Defined as earnings from employment and self-employment.
State Benefits: Includes all types of Social Security Benefits.
Maintenance: As well as alimony and separation allowances, this also includes allowances for foster children and allowances from friends, relatives, armed forces and Merchant Navy personnel. A further break-down within this category is not possible.
Other items: Includes for example income from investments.
5. The estimates for numbers dependent on "Maintenance" and "Other items" as the main source of income are based on a very small sample and are therefore subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the take-up using (i) the expenditure measure and (ii) the case-load measure for(a) family income supplement and (b) family credit, for the latest years available for each benefit on a consistent basis giving the figures for (1) employees, (2) self-employed and (3) employees and self-employed.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe latest available information for family credit take-up is for April to December 1988 and is shown in the table. Since 1988 there has been a major TV60W and press advertising campaign and by the end of September 1989 the caseload had risen to around 320,000 compared with about 280,000 before the advertising began. Estimates of the effect of this campaign on the percentage take-up level cannot be made until information becomes available from the 1989 family expenditure survey about the total eligible population in that year.
Expenditure-based take-up per cent. Caseload-based take-up per cent. (a) Family Income Supplement 1985–86 54 48 (b) Family Credit 1988 65 50 Notes:
1. These figures are obtained from the Technical Notes, copies of which are available in the Library.
2. No information is available for the self-employed.
3. Owing to the small sample size, these estimates are subject to sampling error.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the clearance time in days for family income supplement for 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88, consistent with table 14.30 in chapter 14 of the Public Expenditure White Paper.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardInformation on the same basis is available only for 1987–88, when the average clearance time was 16 working days.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the error rates for family income supplement in 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, and 1987–88, consistent with table 14.31 of chapter 14 of the Public Expenditure White Paper.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardFamily income supplement error rates were as follows:
per cent. 1984–85 3.2 1985–86 2.4 1986–87 3.1 1987–88 2.4 However, information on error rates in family income supplement was collected on a less comprehensive and less sophisticated basis than is the case for family credit.