§ Ms. CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers of 16 July,Official Report, columns 946–47, and 28 October, Official Report, column 738, what is the additional cost of (a) providing information for the mean as well as the median for subdivisions of the income distribution and (b) distinguishing 1988 and 1989 income date from data for both years combined.
§ Mr. BurtAdditional costs are not a material consideration in the use of median rather than mean data. The reasons for the use of median measures are explained in paragraphs 4.72 to 4.25 of the "Stocktaking" report, a copy of which is in the Library. Paragraphs 2.8 to 2.12 of the report also explain why years of data are combined for reasons of statistical reliability rather than cost.
Costs are the determining factor in not providing results covering every year from 1979 to 1989, as stated in my reply of 16 July at columns 946–47. Databases consistent with households below average income methodology as recommended in the "Stocktaking" report are available only for the years 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988 and 1989. To produce databases for the other years would cost in the order of tens of thousands of pounds, and would delay the next edition of HBAI.
§ Ms. CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers of 13 July,Official Report, column 454, and 28 October, Official Report, columns 738–9 what consideration his Department has given to presenting family expenditure survey data in the form presented in the households below average income "Stocktaking" report for (a) 1990 and (b) for 1989 and 1990 combined, in July.
§ Mr. BurtImprovements in timeliness will enable us to publish the next edition of HBAI in mid-1993 using the most recent data. This will feature figures for 1990 and 1991 as well as 1988 and 1989; there are no plans to give78W figures for 1990 on its own. This complies with the recommendations of the 1991 "Stocktaking" report, a copy of which is in the Library.