Cost of Living

HC Deb 02 December 1991 vol 200 c54W

Mr. Vaz

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has of the comparative cost of living of a 24-year-old and a 25-year-old.

Miss Widdecombe

The structure of income support is based on the Green Paper which introduced the 1988 social security reforms. This noted that there is no one age dividing line relevant to all claimants and that the clear majority of claimants under 25 were living in someone else's household. Evidence from the most recent family expenditure survey confirms that this remains the position.

Sources:

1. The Reform of Social Security (Cmnd 9518, June 1985), Vol. 2, page 23, paragraph 2.73.

2. 1988 family expenditure survey.