§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the number of households existing on less than half the average weekly income (after housing costs) in each of the last 10 years for which
Median Income (in £ per week) of the bottom decile and top decile after housing costs (in February 2000 prices) £ per week Including self-employed Excluding self-employed Bottom decile Bottom quintile Top decile Bottom decile Bottom quintile Top decile 1994–95 66 93 565 74 97 535 1995–96 71 96 574 78 98 543 1996–97 73 96 596 77 97 568 1997–98 71 98 603 78 100 573 1998–99 77 101 639 82 103 603 Notes:
1. The HBAI estimates are taken from the Family Resources Survey and relate to Great Britain.
2. The median has been used as the measure of the average income in the bottom and top decile and bottom quintile in line with HBAI conventions. This measure is preferred to the mean because it measures the central income of the group and is less influenced by possibly unrepresentative outliers.
3. All estimates are subject to sampling error and response bias and small changes between years may be influenced by these. Results for individual years may be sensitive to the way in which household incomes are adjusted for size and composition: the picture of changes over time is less sensitive to this.
4. Figures are provided both including and excluding the self-employed reflecting concerns over the accuracy of income information for the self-employed.
Source: Family Resources Survey