Written question asked by David Marshall (Labour) on Thursday, 23 January 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 13 February 2003. It was answered by Anne McGuire (Labour) on Thursday, 13 February 2003 on behalf of the Scotland Office.

Scotland Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what her latest estimate is of how many (a) pensioners, (b) children and (c) other people are living in poverty in each constituency in Scotland.

Answer: Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what her latest estimate is of how many (a) pensioners, (b) children and (c) other people are living in poverty in each constituency in Scotland. [94067] Mrs. McGuire: Poverty is a complex multi- dimensional problem. "Opportunity for All" sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents the latest information on the indicators used to monitor progress. The Scottish Executive's strategy is contained in their Social Justice Annual Report. The data sources which the Government and the Executive use for income analysis are the Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income. The sample sizes are not large enough to allow analysis below the all-Scotland level.

Secondary information