HC Deb 17 December 1997 vol 303 c240W
Mr. Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of couples were in receipt of income support or income related jobseeker's allowance in which the woman is the claimant, for each year since 1990. [20678]

Mr. Field

The information is set out in the table:

Claimants of income support/income based jobseeker's allowance where the women heads the unit 1990–97
All couples Couples headed by a woman
Number As a percentage of all couples
May 1990 691,000 35,000 5
May 1991 763,000 37,000 5
May 1992 891,000 48,000 5
May 1993 1,016,000 63,000 6
May 1994 992,000 75,000 8
May 1995 946,000 85,000 9
May 1996 915,000 91,000 10
February 1997 855,000 91,000 11

Notes

1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Income based jobseeker's allowance replaced income support for the unemployed from October 1996.

3. Sample size 1 per cent. up to 1992, 5 per cent. thereafter.

Sources

1. Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiries, 1990–93.

2. Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiries, May 1994—February 1997.

3. Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, February 1997.