To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to publish the 1985 to 1987 figures on households below average income.

Following the recent report by the Social Services Committee, we have asked DSS statisticians to carry out some additional work on the composition and characteristics of the lowest income group, as the Committee suggested. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the hon. Member last month explaining that, while this additional work meant that publication would not be possible on the timescale originally envisaged, we had suggested that the statisticians should aim to complete their work within about four to five weeks. This work has not yet been completed.