§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income distribution is in deciles of(a) lone mothers and (b) women in two-parent families who are in work when they give birth and who are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay. [114791]
§ Angela EagleI have been asked to reply.
The information is not available in the format requested as past eligibility to Statutory Maternity Pay is not collected in the sample survey used to derive income data. Further, the sample is not large enough to identify sufficient numbers of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay at the time of the interview for an analysis by decile.
Such information that is available is in the table.
Proportions of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay in each half of the equivalised household income distribution
, 1996–97 and 1997–98 combined (including the self-employed)
Percentage Proporation of women in receipt of SMP Bottom half of income distribution Top half of income distribution Before Housing Costs 30 70 After Housing Costs 36 64 Notes:
1. The information comes from the 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series and relates to Great Britain. The estimates are presented on household income both Before Housing Costs and After Housing Costs in line with HBAI conventions. All the estimates in the table relate to women who were, at the time of the survey interview, in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay.
2. Estimates are subject to sampling error.
3. Estimates were based on two survey years combined, and should be treated with caution as the sample sizes are small.