HC Deb 26 July 1993 vol 229 cc725-6W
Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his most recent estimate of the number of one-parent families; and what percentage of the heads of lone-parent families are aged(a) under 20, (b) 20 to 25, (c) over 25 years and (d) female.

Mr. Burt

The number of lone parent families with dependent children in Great Britain is provisionally estimated from the 1991 census of population to be 1.27 million.

Information on the age and sex of lone parents is not yet available from 1991 census of population but is scheduled to be published next year in the Household and Family Composition Volume, a copy of which will be placed in the Library.

However, data from the General Household Survey for the years 1989 to 1991 give the following estimates for the percentages of lone parent families in Great Britain with the stated characteristics.

Per cent.
Aged under 20 2
Aged 20 to 25 inclusive 11
Aged over 25 88
Female 92

Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents there are in(a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole; and how many and what proportion of income support claimants are lone parents in each area.

Mr. Burt

Provisional estimates of the number of lone parent families with dependent children in 1991 are as follows:(a) Inverclyde 3,200, (b) Strathclyde, 69,400, and (c) Scotland 132,0001.

Data on the number of lone parent families in receipt of income support in individual locations are not available. However, the total number of lone parents receiving income support in Scotland in 1992 was 106,0002, representing 20 per cent. of all income support claimants in Scotland.

  • 1 1991 population census, provisional estimate.
  • 2 1992 Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry. The definition of lone parents used excludes those temporarily separated.