HC Deb 10 November 1998 vol 319 cc160-1W
Mr. Bradshaw

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of children in the UK living in families dependent on supplementary benefits or income support in each year since 1979, and for each year these as a proportion of all children in the UK. [58297]

Angela Eagle

The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is set out in the tables.

Number of children in families on Supplementary Benefit/Income Support as percentage of child population—Great Britain,
Year Children agedless than 16 % of child Population
1979 923,000 7.3
1980 1,088,000 8.8
1981 1,493,000 12.3
1991 2,368,000 20.9
1998 2,224,000 19.0
Number of children in families on Supplementary Benefit/Income Support as percentage of child population—United Kingdom
Year Children aged-less than 16 %of child population
1982 1,826,000 14.8
1983 1,900,000 15.7
1984 2,059,000 17.3
1985 n/a n/a
1986 2,250,000 19.3
1987 2,236,000 19.3
1988 2,202,000 19.1
1989 2,143,000 18.5
1990 2,155,000 18.5
1991 n/a n/a
1992 2,831,000 23.9
1993 2,979,000 25.9
1994 3,105,000 25.7
Number of children in families on Supplementary Benefit/Income Support as percentage of child population—United Kingdom
Year Children aged less than 16 % of child population
1995 3,090,000 25.5
1996 3,048,000 25.2
1997 2,399,000 19.8

Notes

  1. 1. Figures for Northern Ireland for the years 1979–81, 1991 and 1998 are not available
  2. 2. No figures were produced for 1985 in the United Kingdom table as a result of industrial action
  3. 3. Children are defined as aged 0–15 years
  4. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand
  5. 5. Income Support replaced Supplementary Benefit in 1988
  6. 6. Sample sizes: 1979–82 Supplementary Pension cases 1 in 200, Supplementary Allowance cases 1 in 50. 1983–87 Supplementary Pension cases 1 in 200, Supplementary Allowance cases 1 in 50. E (Unemployed) cases 1 in 100. 1988–93 1 in 100. 1994 to date 1 in 20
  7. 7. n/a denotes UK information not available
  8. 8. Figures are given for May of each year, except for 1982 to 1984 when the month was December, 1979 the month was November, and 1986 the month was February
  9. 9. Numbers from 1997 exclude children in families receiving Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance which replaced Income Support for the unemployed from October 1996
  10. 10. Percentage population figures for 1998 are based on Office for National Statistics mid-term estimates for 1997

Source

  1. 1. Income Support/Supplementary Benefit Statistics Annual Enquiries 1979–93
  2. 2. Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiries 1994–98
  3. 3. Income Support Statistics, Northern Ireland
  4. 4. Office for National Statistics mid-term population estimates 1979–97