asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update the information on tax allowances given to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Howell) Official Report, 28 February 1978, columns 181–2.

No precise information is available. Results from the family expenditure survey for 1977—the latest analysis available—indicate that in that year about 20,000 single parents in full-time employment and about 50,000 married couples with children where either the husband or wife was in full-time employment had earnings below the tax threshold.