HC Deb 18 March 1993 vol 221 cc377-8W
Mr. Knox

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of families with children were one-parent families, in each member state of the EC, in 1975 and the latest date available.

Mr. Burt

In Great Britain the proportion of families with dependent children headed by a lone parent has increased from 10 per cent. in 1975 to 19 per cent. in 1990—source: "General Household Survey". Comparable figures are not available for 1975 for other EC countries.

Table 1 provides the best available estimates of the proportion of all families with children aged under 18 headed by a lone parent at the end of the 1980s. The estimates were published in a report to the European Commission in 1992. They should be treated with caution because the information and definitions used to derive them are not completely comparable.

Table 1
Estimates of the numbers of lone parent families as a proportion of all families with children under the age of 18 at the end of the 1980s
Per cent.
Great Britain 17
Denmark 15
France, Germany 11–13
Belgium, Ireland, Luexembourg, Netherlands, Portugal 9–11
Greece, Spain, Italy 5–6

Source: "Lone Parent Families in the European Community". A report to the European Commission, Jo Roll 1992.

Mr. Hall

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of lone parents in the area of the Benefits Agency office which includes Warrington, South claimed income support at the latest available date.

Mr. Burt

The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available, and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Mike Hall, dared 17 March 1993: As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what percentage of lone parents in the area of the Benefits Agency Office which includes Warrington, South claimed Income Support at the latest available date. The Income Support Management Information Statistics for the end of February 1993 show that 7,120 customers within the Benefits Agency's North Cheshire District, which includes the constituency of Warrington, South, received the Lone Parent Premium within their Income Support entitlement. However, general population statistics on lone parents are only available for Great Britain as a whole. We are therefore unable to express this number of customers as a percentage of the total number of lone parents in the District's catchment area. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.