asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) single people without children, (b) married men without children, (c) married men with children, (d) one-parent families, and (e) working wives were below the tax threshold at the latest available date.

Information is not directly available as to the numbers below the tax thresholds in the population categories specified.But it may be helpful to have estimates, on a slightly different definition, of the

total population to compare with the number paying tax in these categories. Population estimates and a special analysis of the general household survey suggest that the total population in each specified category was approximately:

	'000
Single persons without children	13,300
Married men without dependent children	7,100
Married men with dependent children	7,000
One-parent families	800
Working wives	7,000

These figures are provisional.

('000s
						1975–76	1978–79 estimates
(a) Single persons without children	…	…	…	…	…	8,140	8,210
(b) Married men without children	…	…	…	…	…	5,890	5,850
(c) Married men with children	…	…	…	…	…	6,310	6,360
(d) One-parent families	…	…	…	…	…	390	420
(e) Working wives	…	…	…	…	…	4,700	4,740

The latest available firm information, for 1975–76, is based on the Inland Revenue's survey of personal incomes. The figures for 1978–79 are estimates. The number of working wives includes in each year about 200,000 wives whose husbands are not taxpayers and are not included in (