§ Mrs. RoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment has been made of the reasons why mothers undertake paid employment; and what proportion indicate that without such work their family income would fall below poverty levels.
§ Mr. NichollsThe 1984 British social attitudes survey asked women in paid work (of at least 10 hours per week) with a child aged under 16 to give their main reason for working. The results were as follows:
per cent. Need money for basic essentials 50 To earn money to buy extras 22 Enjoy working 17 To follow my career 4 To earn money of my own 3 For the company of other people 2 For a change from my children or housework 2 Working is the normal thing to do 1 Percentages total more than 100 per cent. due to rounding
There is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes a poverty level. No evidence is available on the 98W proportion of mothers who indicate that their family income would fall below poverty levels without paid employment.