To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the impact of Government policies on the economic well-being of the poorest decile of the income distribution.

Information on the living standards of people living in the lower half of the income distribution is presented in the series of tables "Households Below Average Income 1981–87", copies of which are available in the Library. The tables show that the incomes of those in the lower income groups—including the lowest decile—rose in real terms during that period.