§ 1990. Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has on the percentage of people in Britain who were living on or below the supplementary benefit level in(a) 1979, (b) 1987 and (c)
§ Mr. BurtThe Department no longer produces estimates of this kind, following the recommendations of the technical review of low income statistics in March 1988. A copy of this report can be found in the Library. Information for 1987 and 1990 is therefore not available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. Estimates for 1979 were published in "Low Income Families—1979", a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Mr. KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the effects of the Child Support Act 1991 on the number of families entitled to(a) family credit and (b) income support distinguishing between lone-parent families and the families paying maintenance.
§ Mr. BurtWe estimate that in the long run increased payments of child maintenance under the Child Support Act will result in some 60,000 to 80,000 lone parents moving off income support. It is expected that the majority of these will move on to family credit. Of lone parents already on family credit, we estimate that around 10,000 will move off this benefit. These estimates are based on 1987–88–89 family expenditure survey data.
The entitlement to income support of absent parents with families living with them will not be affected. The family expenditure survey does not contain information on absent parents and therefore it is not possible to say how their entitlement to family credit will be affected by policy changes.