HC Deb 23 June 1997 vol 296 c413W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment her Department has made of the report prepared by the European Commission's Eurostat secretariat on the comparative levels of poverty in EU member states. [863]

Mr. Keith Bradley

The Government has considered the report. We are determined to tackle unjustifiable social and economic inequality through a range of initiatives.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the number and proportion of United Kingdom households living under the Council of Europe poverty threshold; and if she will publish this information monthly. [4404]

Mr. Bradley

The Council of Europe decency threshold relates to individual earnings. It is therefore not meaningful to compare this with total disposable income of households. Information on the numbers and proportions of individuals, whose household income is below various levels, is published annually in the DSS statistical series "Households Below Average Income," a copy of which is in the Library. The estimates are drawn from household surveys, whose sample sizes would not allow any valid estimates to be made on a monthly basis.

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