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Intervention Stocks
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amounts of (a) butter, (b) beef, (c) wine, and (d) cheese by weight or volume and at current prices, held in the county of South Yorkshire in each year since 1979 under EEC intervention policies.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The information requested is as follows :
Tonnes
Butter Beef Wine Cheese
Year ending |Held in intervention |Privately owned and |Held in intervention |Privately owned and
|stored against EC aided |stored against EC aided
|contracts |contracts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |109 |<1>- |nil |<1>- |nil |nil
1980 |269 |<1>- |nil |<1>- |nil |nil
1981 |nil |<1>- |nil |<1>- |nil |nil
1982 |110 |<1>- |nil |<1>- |nil |nil
1983 |2,422 |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
1984 |3,218 |233 |66.0 |nil |nil |nil
1985 |4,999 |nil |122.0 |nil |nil |nil
1986 |7,898 |110 |46.0 |nil |nil |nil
1987 |3,412 |44 |15.0 |nil |nil |nil
1988 |1,757 |nil |0.5 |nil |nil |nil
<1> Details of privately owned stocks of butter held prior to 1983 are no longer available.
Current valuation figures for intervention butter and beef are £1, 422.46/tonne and £1,322.71/tonne respectively.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 14 April to the hon. Member for Caerphilly, Official Report, column 748, in which month of 1988 each suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was identified ; and at which veterinary investigation centre each suspected case was examined.
Mr. Donald Thompson : This information is not held centrally.
Butter, Beef and Wheat Prices
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on the price of butter, beef and wheat in the United Kingdom in consequence of the various changes agreed at the Council of Ministers.
Mr. MacGregor The decisions taken on 22 April by the Council of Ministers, are expected to increase support prices in the United Kingdom by just over 1 per cent. for butter ; 2.7 per cent. for beef and around 3.5 per cent. for wheat, but market prices and retail prices reflect many factors, notably the weather, levels of supply and demand, the operation of stabilisers and the weakening of intervention arrangements for these products in recent years.
Green Currency Changes
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement setting out the various green currency changes agreed at the Council of Ministers ; and if he will further list the member states affected by these changes.
Mr. MacGregor : In the settlement reached on 22 April the Council of Ministers agreed that the green currency exchange rates be changed so as to adjust the monetary gaps between green and market exchange rates by the following percentage points :
Dismantlement of real monetary gaps
|Percentage points
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denmark
Sheepmeat |-3.060
All other sectors except |-1.000
France
Milk |-1.529
Beef |-0.531
Sheepmeat |-0.561
All other livestock products except pigmeat |-1.777
Wine |-2.082
All other sectors |-1.529
Germany
Milk |1.477
All other livestock products |0.446
Greece
Sheepmeat |-9.481
Structures |-3.561
All other sectors |-16.500
Ireland
Sheepmeat |-3.316
Beef |-2.000
All crop products |-1.565
All other sectors except pigmeat |-1.471
Italy
Pigmeat |0.116
Cereals, oilseeds and dried fodder |-2.367
Fruit and vegetables and tobacco |-1.329
Wine |-2.168
All other sectors |-1.840
Netherlands
Milk |0.866
All other sectors except cereals |0.347
Portugal |-2.125
Spain
Wine, olive oil, rice, oilseed, fruit and
vegetables, dried fodder, flax, hemp and
silkworms |0.805
United Kingdom
Pigmeat |-0.424
Sheepmeat |-4.361
Beef |-2.714
All crop products |-4.056
All other sectors |-3.270
European Community Price Settlement
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate has been made of the additional cost to consumers in Europe of the recent price package ; and what estimate he has made of the extra cost reduction to the European Economic Community.
Mr. MacGregor : I estimate that the effect of the price settlement on the retail prices index (all items) in the United Kingdom will be very small, at most one twentieth of 1 per cent. I have no estimates for other member states or for the Community as a whole. The proportion of the overall European Community budget represented by CAP guarantee expenditure is expected to fall from 61 per cent. in 1988 to 60 per cent. in 1989.
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will state his estimate of the increase in (a) the price of wheat and (b) the price of sugar beet that producers can expect as a result of the recent European Economic Community agricultural prices settlement ;
(2) how the estimate of £155 million extra United Kingdom farm income resulting from the various European Economic Community farm price adjustments was calculated ; how much of the £155 million is allocated to each type of product ; and what effect on prices the settlement would have for each commodity.
Mr. MacGregor : The £155 million is the estimated full-year effect of the change in the green pound. Since the aggregate effect of the decisions on common support prices intervention arrangements and producer levies is estimated to be neutral, it is also the effect of the package as a whole. These effects are calculated using current
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annual volumes of production and adjusting for increases in the cost of purchased feedingstuffs, seeds and livestock. The breakdown between products is cereals, £65 million ; other crops, £10 million ; sheep, £30 million ; milk, £40 million ; other livestock products, £10 million. It is estimated that the aggregate effects of the Council's other decisions are neutral.The settlement in itself is estimated to increase support levels in sterling by cereals, 3.5 per cent. ; sugar beet, 2 per cent. ; oilseeds, 4 per cent. ; sheep, 4.2 per cent. ; beef, 2.7 per cent ; butter, 1 per cent. ; and other milk products, 3.2 per cent (plus a further 1 per cent. or more in the less-favoured areas and 0.5 per cent. elsewhere, due to the reduction in the milk co-responsibility levy). Producer returns will, of course, be affected by various other factors, in particular the impact on support prices of the stabiliser mechanisms for cereals, oilseeds and sheep, which will be operating to reduce the support prices in accordance with formulae agreed last year when maximum guaranteed quantities and defined ewe numbers are exceeded.
Food Irradiation
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals there are in the European Community for food irradiation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : A proposal for a Council directive on this subject was submitted by the Commission to the Council on 9 December 1988. The proposal is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities dated 31 December 1988. A copy is in the Library of the House. The draft has been recommended for debate.
Sheep Scab
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will place the report of his working party on sheep scab control in the Library.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I have placed today in the Library of the House copies of the consultation document circulated to interested parties last December which contains the working party's findings, together with background information and an economic appraisal of the options considered.
Food Supplies
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, following his visit to the United States of America, he is now able to assess whether the world is faced with a problem of food surpluses or food shortages.
Mr. Ryder : My recent discussions in the United States confirmed my view that, with the underlying trends in
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output and consumption, the risk of widespread structural surpluses remains and that we should continue to pursue the objective of the Uruguay round to reform agricultural policies and expose agriculture more fully to market forces.Amazonian Rain Forest
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to put the issue of the Brazilian Amazonian rain forest on the agenda of the next Council of Agriculture Ministers.
Mr. Ryder : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister on 26 April at column 959.
Daminozide
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what have been the conclusions of his Department following the review undertaken by the advisory committee on pesticides on health risks associated with the use of daminozide ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : Ministers responsible for the control of pesticides are currently considering the advice of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides on daminozide.
Chemical Safety
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total number of pesticide scientists involved in the review of the safety of chemicals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I refer the hon. Member to the pesticide review programme which was published on 16 March, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Pig Farming
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give figures for the number of people involved in pig farming for the years (a) 1960, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1985, (e) 1986, (f) 1987 and (g) 1988.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding answer 21 April 1989] : Data in the form requested are not available for 1960 or 1970. For 1980 onwards, labour figures for holdings classified as predominantly pig holdings are given in the table, but even on these specialist holdings there are other activities to which some of this labour will be directed. About 25 per cent. of pigs are on non-specialist holdings but it is not possible to estimate how much of the labour on these is attributable to the pig enterprise.
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England and Wales
Labour on agricultural holdings classified as predominantly pig holdings
|Number of holdings |Proportion of national pig herd |Farmers, Partners and Directors and spouses |Whole time workers including salaried managers |Part time including seasonal and casual workers
1980 |8,339 |73.9 |12,859 |9,356 |4,715
1985 |6,063 |72.8 |9,390 |7,674 |3,389
1986 |5,971 |73.6 |9,268 |7,695 |3,230
1987 |5,555 |73.4 |8,729 |7,310 |3,108
1988 |5,301 |74.4 |8,340 |6,653 |2,830
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Dairy Farming
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the figures for the number of people involved in dairy farming for the years (a) 1960, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1985, (e) 1986, (f) 1987 and (g) 1988.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding answer 21 April 1989] : Data in the form requested are not available for 1960 or
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1970. For 1980 onwards, labour figures for holdings classified as specialist or mainly dairying are given in the table, but even on these specialist holdings there are other activities to which some of this labour will be directed. About 15 per cent. of dairy cows are on non-specialist holdings, but it is not possible to estimate how much of the labour on these is attributable to the dairy enterprise.Column 87
England and Wales
Labour on agricultural holdings classified as specialist or mainly dairying
|Number of holdings |Proportion of national|Farmers Partners and |Whole time workers |Part time workers
|dairy herd |Directors and Spouses |salaried managers |including seasonal and
|casual workers
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |40,365 |85.8 |70,332 |32,692 |19,315
1985 |34,854 |85.8 |63,285 |27,761 |16,867
1986 |33,967 |86.1 |62,092 |26,462 |17,090
1987 |32,162 |85.4 |58,881 |24,384 |16,139
1988 |30,414 |84.5 |56,213 |22,413 |15,143
Dioxin in Food
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the food products he is testing for the presence of dioxin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 28 May 1989] : My Ministry's food science laboratory has an ongoing research programme on dioxins designed to address a number of issues. Human breast milk has been examined as part of an international collaborative exercise : the analysis of composite food samples is under way in order to help confirm which classes of food are associated with dioxins : and individual retail purchases of a range of fatty foods such as milk, meat products and fish are also being examined. Finally, preliminary studies on the migration of dioxins into food from paper-based products such as milk cartons, tea bags and coffee filter papers have recently been carried out following reports that certain bleached paper products may contain dioxins. Results will be published as soon as possible.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Pensions
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the income of pensioners with no other source of income than state benefits as a proportion of the average earnings of all male workers in each year since 1974.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is as follows :
Average gross income of pensioners with no other source of income than state benefits as a proportion of the average earnings of all male workers Year --------------- 1974 |27 1975 |27 1976 |27 1977 |29 1978 |29 1979 |28 1980 |28 1981 |29 1982 |30 1983 |30 1984 |31 1985 |30 1986 |29 Notes: 1. Pensioner incomes are from the family expenditure survey. 2. Earnings data are from the new earnings survey.
The average gross income of this group of pensioners as a proportion of all manual workers' earnings was 32 per cent. in 1974, 33 per cent. in 1979, increasing to 37 per cent. in 1986.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.
Mr. Scott : At 1 April 1989 there were 2,844 staff employed and 52.5 current vacancies. Information about the length of time vacancies have existed cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. There were 76 casual and temporary appointments and 1,688 hours overtime worked during March 1989. This information is provisional and does not include locally paid staff employed in the regional organisation.
Benefits
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish for each month since April 1988 the number of people submitting claims for income support and family credit and the number unsuccessful ; and if the latter data can be expressed as a percentage of the former.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information is in the tables.
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Family credit
Period |Claims received |Invalid claims |Valid claims disallowed |Unsuccessful claims as a
|percentage of valid
|claims received
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11-30 April 1988 |96,505} |5,119 |18,897 |32.0
May 1988 |41,721}
June 1988 |52,293 |3,313 |13,392 |27.0
July 1988 |46,100 |3,142 |14,570 |27.8
August 1988 |46,376 |3,143 |14,883 |27.0
September 1988 |47,759 |2,190 |8,660 |26.4
October 1988 |56,373 |2,808 |14,886 |24.9
November 1988 |57,850 |2,690 |15,226 |24.8
December 1988 |44,834 |2,521 |12,629 |26.1
January 1989 |63,638 |3,621 |15,696 |26.9
February 1989 |60,318 |3,222 |15,506 |25.6
March 1989 |68,637 |4,279 |15,189 |24.4
Family credit
Period |Claims received |Invalid claims |Valid claims disallowed |Unsuccessful claims as a
|percentage of valid
|claims received
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11-30 April 1988 |96,505} |5,119 |18,897 |32.0
May 1988 |41,721}
June 1988 |52,293 |3,313 |13,392 |27.0
July 1988 |46,100 |3,142 |14,570 |27.8
August 1988 |46,376 |3,143 |14,883 |27.0
September 1988 |47,759 |2,190 |8,660 |26.4
October 1988 |56,373 |2,808 |14,886 |24.9
November 1988 |57,850 |2,690 |15,226 |24.8
December 1988 |44,834 |2,521 |12,629 |26.1
January 1989 |63,638 |3,621 |15,696 |26.9
February 1989 |60,318 |3,222 |15,506 |25.6
March 1989 |68,637 |4,279 |15,189 |24.4
Source : Local office and family credit branch data collected for management information purposes. They are provisional and subject to amendment.
Mr. Randall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are on (a) income support, (b) family credit and (c) unemployment benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest available figures are :
|Number
---------------------------------------------
(a) Income Support |4,416,000
(b) Family Credit |254,000
(c) Unemployment Benefit |500,000
Social Fund
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much the Peckham Department of Social Security offices were given from the social fund (a) in 1988-89 and (b) in 1989-90 ; whether this has increased in line with inflation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The details of the social fund allocations are as follows :
1988-89 1989-90
|Loans |Grants |Loans |Grants
|£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------
Camberwell AO |442,473|186,487|409,866|175,936
Kennington Park ILO |377,078|158,672|369,213|153,717
Peckham ILO |343,582|145,406|329,774|145,861
A note explaining the basis on which the social fund allocations for 1989- 90 were calculated is in the Library.
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Pensioners
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has as to how many pensioners receive only the state retirement pension ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 30 September 1988, 2,168,320 pensioners in Great Britain were receiving only the basic state retirement pension, that is they were not in receipt of graduated pension or additional pension. However, these pensioners may also have been receiving other contri-butory and non-contributory benefits. In particular, a pensioner who has only the basic state pension and little or no other income or savings may be entitled to income support and housing benefit.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the percentage of pensioners on incomes on or below 140 per cent. of income support level ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The low income families statistics, which show the number and characteristics of pensioners not receiving supplementary benefit but with incomes within 140 per cent. of the supplementary benefit scale rates have been discontinued. Alternative measures of net income before and after housing costs have been introduced. Figures on this alternative basis covering the years 1981, 1983 and 1985 can be found in "Households Below Average Income", copies of which are in the Library.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will estimate the percentage of pensioners in the lowest quintile of the national income distribution ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(2) what assessment he has made of the causes of the reduction in the percentage of pensioners in the lowest quintile in recent years ; and if he will make a statement ;(3) how many pensioners are in the highest quintile of the population ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1979, 38 per cent. of pensioner tax units (a pensioner tax unit is a single person of state pension age or over, or a couple where the man is of state pension age or over) were in the lowest fifth of the national income distribution. In 1986, the latest year for which information is available, this figure had fallen to 24 per cent. The factors contributing to this reduction include the 23 per cent. real terms increase in pensioners' average total net income between 1979 and 1986, and the fact that pensioners' incomes increased twice as fast as those of the population as a whole over the same period. In 1986, 6 per cent. of pensioners were in the highest fifth of the national income distribution.
Source : Family Expenditure Survey 1986
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the numbers of pensioners in Britain ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 30 September 1988 there were approximately 9.4 million retirement pensioners resident in Great Britain.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of pensioners receiving (a) income support and (b) housing benefit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest available figure for income support is 1,671,000. This relates to cases where either the claimant or his partner is aged 60 or over. Information for housing benefit recipients is not yet available.
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Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners lost entitlement to housing benefit following the introduction of the capital cut-off limit of £8,000 ; what was the estimated annual saving to the Exchequer as against the previous arrangements ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The housing benefit capital limit was introduced on 14 April 1988 at £6,000, at an estimated net saving of £80 million ; it was increased to £8,000 on 13 May 1988. The increase cost an estimated £35 million and restored entitlement to housing benefit to around 100,000 of the 300,000 people--almost all pensioners--who had lost entitlement in April.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will estimate the percentage of total pensioners' income in 1988 represented by social security benefits ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will estimate the percentage of total pensioners' income in 1988 represented by occupational pensions ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he will estimate the percentage of total pensioners' income in 1988 represented (a) by savings and (b) by investments ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) if he will estimate the percentage of total pensioners' income in 1988 represented by earnings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1986, the latest year for which information is available, 59 per cent. of pensioners' average gross income was derived from social security benefits, 20 per cent. from occupational pensions, 14 per cent. from savings and investments, and 7 per cent. from earnings.
Source : Family Expenditure Survey 1986.
Note : There is no generally agreed distinction between savings and investments.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
DSS Leaflets
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Bradford Gingerbread centre is going to receive leaflets ordered from DSS Leaflets, PO Box 21, Stanmore, on 7 December 1988 ; when the last batch of leaflets ordered by Bradford Gingerbread centre on 10 August last were dispatched ; if he has any plans to improve the service offered by DSS Leaflets, Stanmore ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that the DSS leaflets unit has no record of an order dated 7 December 1988. The order dated 10 August 1988 was dispatched on 4 April 1989.
The principal factors causing delay in the distribution of some orders from Canons Park leaflets unit are the considerably increased demand for bulk orders, and the physical constraints of the unit which preclude an immediate expansion of capacity or the recruitment of more staff to cope with this demand.
From 1 May requests for bulk orders of leaflets and forms from organisations such as Gingerbread, will be supplied within 48 hours from receipt of order.
The Department will be testing a service giving a 48-hour turnround for members of the public. People will be able to order leaflets by telephone using the Department's Freeline or by preprinted card.
Income Support
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of (a) pregnant women on income support and (b) free milk and vitamin awards to women on income support.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Provisional figures for May 1988 show that approximately 41,000 pregnant women on income support were claiming free welfare milk and vitamins. No separate information is available about the total number of pregnant women on income support.
Earnings
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes there have been to the definition of earnings for national insurance calculation purposes since the last fiscal year ; and under what authority such changes were made.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Section 3(1) of the Social Security Act 1975 defines earnings so as to include any remuneration or profit derived from an employment. In May 1988 the Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1988 (SI 1988/No. 860) came into force. These regulations, which were made by exercising powers in section 3(2) and 3(3) of the 1975 Social Security Act, provided that payments to employed earners in the form of a wide range of securities but not equities, should be included in earnings for contributions purposes. Paragraph 1 of schedule 7 to the Social Security Bill will also amend section 3 of the Social Security Act 1975 to provide that earnings will include payments which are consideration for restrictive undertakings specified in subsection (1) and (2) of section 313 of the Income and Taxes Act 1988.
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Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what differences there are between the definitions of earnings for national insurance and PAYE purposes.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : National insurance contributions are charged on gross earnings and only earnings of all employees, with the exception of those employees who are over pensionable age. National insurance contributions are not charged on occupational pensions, and investment income. Further information on what is included in gross pay for national insurance purposes is included in the recently published "Employers Manual on National Insurance Contributions", which I have placed in the Library.
Income tax is deducted under PAYE on income from offices and employments, occupational pensions, certain social security benefits and lump sum payments.
Hillsborough Disaster Fund
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what effect payments from the Hillsborough disaster fund will have on the level of benefits for bereaved families.
Mr. Scott : No payments have yet been made by the Hillsborough disaster fund and therefore it is not possible to say whether and how they might affect benefits. Officials have been in touch with the fund's administrators to advise them on the social security rules. The majority of social security benefits would not in any case be affected by any payment from the fund.
Marginal Tax Rates
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide figures for (a) the number of individuals and (b) the number of families facing marginal tax rates in excess of (i) 70 per cent., (ii) 80 per cent., and (iii) 90 per cent. from 1973 to the present day.
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish estimates of the numbers of individuals or families facing marginal tax rates in excess of 70 per cent., 80 per cent., 90 per cent., 100 per cent., and above 100 per cent., for each year from 1979-80 to 1988-89.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 11 April 1989] : Table 15.15 on page 16 of Cm. 615 sets out estimates for November 1985 and April 1988. Information on the numbers of individuals and families by different marginal deduction rates is not available for earlier years. I also refer the hon. Members to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 17 February, at column 393 . The table sets out the latest estimates of the numbers of working heads who might face combined rates of deduction of 70 per cent. or more. The figures reflect the March 1989 Budget and include the effects of the employees' national insurance reform which takes effect in October.
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Combined marginal income tax and benefit withdrawal rates 1989-90
Working heads of tax units (000) Great Britain numbers facing
combined rates of over 70 per cent.-in bands
|Families with children |Couples and single people|Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over 100 per cent. |- |- |-
Over 90 per cent. |40 |5 |45
Over 80 per cent. |195 |15 |210
Over 70 per cent. |365 |50 |415
Notes:
1. Marginal deduction rates shown are for heads of tax units in receipt of family credit/housing benefit where at least one
partner works 24 hours or more a week.
2. All estimates are for 1989-90 and are based on combined 1985 and 1986 family expenditure survey data and are consistent with
this year's Government expenditure White Paper.
3. Some totals may not sum because of rounding.
4. Denotes an estimate of fewer than 2,500.
5. The total number of working heads of tax-units with more than 24-weekly remunerative hours is approximately 17 million. Those
shown in the table therefore represent only 2.5 per cent. of the total.
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Retirement Incomes
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, on the basis of data in the family expenditure survey for 1986, he will state the average percentage income of (a) all retired households, (b) single retired households, (c) retired one-man households and (d) retired one-woman households, in each case in all five quintile groupings, which is derived from (i) original income, (ii) contributory retirement pension, (iii) supplementary benefit and (iv) housing benefit ; and what is the total average income of each qroup in each quintile.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 12 April 1989] : On the basis of data in the family expenditure survey pensioners' average income cannot be broken down separately into the proportions derived from contributory retirement pensions, supplementary benefit and housing benefit. These sources of income are taken together in column 2.
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