asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing for April of each year since 1974 and including the current year the number of recipients of family income supplement who are also liable for income tax and the percentage of all family income supplement recipients these represent; and if he will make a similar estimate for after 24 November.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 April 1980, c. 515–16]: Information is not collected in the form requested, but the following estimates, up to the most recent date available may be helpful:

	FIS recipients	Estimated numbers above tax threshold when benefit was claimed in previous year	% of recipients
April 1974	75,210	15,000	20
April 1975	56,370	12,300	22
April 1976	59,840	27,740	46
April 1977	83,570	46,400	56
April 1978	95,720	59,470	62
October 1979	70,160	50,360	72

The number of FIS recipients in April 1979 was 77,610, but the analysis by income range necessary for the calculation of numbers above the tax threshold is not available for that month.In calculating the tax threshold, assumptions had to be made about the ages of the children. In families of up to four children, they were assumed to be under 11. For families with five to eight children, it was assumed that four were under 11 and the rest 11–16. In families of nine children or more, four were assumed to be under 11, four 11–16 and the remainder over 16.