Written question asked by Tom Cox (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 November 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 November 2001. It was answered by Ruth Kelly (Labour) on Monday, 19 November 2001 on behalf of the Office for National Statistics.

Treasury;Office for National Statistics

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many single parent families have more than (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four children. - Including figures and text of letter from John Kidgell of the Office for National Statistics.

Answer: Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many single parent families have more than (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four children. [15337] Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply. Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 19 November 2001: The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of single parent families who have more than one, two, three or four children (15337). I am replying in his absence. Provisional estimates for Great Britain, from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for 2000 indicate that there were 1.6 million lone parent families in Great Britain in 2000. Of this total, 0.8 million families had 1 dependent child; 0.5 million families had 2 dependent children; 0.2 million families had 3 dependent children and 0.06 million families had 4 or more dependent children.

Secondary information