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8 April 2004

STATISTICAL PRESS RELEASE FAMILY RESOURCES SURVEY NORTHERN IRELAND 2002-03

The first annual report entitled ‘FAMILY RESOURCES SURVEY Northern Ireland 2002-03’ was released today by the Statistics and Research Branch of the Department for Social Development.

The report is available on the website www.dsdni.gov.uk/statistics-research/introduction.asp

Some of the main findings include:

    1. The average number of persons per household is 2.6 in NI compared to an average of 2.3 in the UK as a whole.
    2. NI has a lower percentage of single-person households - 22% compared to 32% in the UK.
    3. Females received more Medical Prescriptions (31%) compared to males (25%).
    4. 60% of household income in NI is sourced from Wages and Salaries, compared to 65% in the UK as a whole.
    5. NI households, however, source a higher percentage of their income from self-employment (12%) compared to the UK average (9%).
    6. Benefit receipt is higher in NI (63% of benefit units) than the UK average (58%), but lower than the North East (68%).
    7. 56% of benefit units in one-parent families are receiving Income Support.
    8. 17% of benefit units with children are in receipt of Tax Credits.
    9. The UK average for taking out private medical insurance is 17% compared to the NI average of 10%.
    10. 75% of households, where there is a single adult with children, are renting their home.
    11. 17% of households in NI have no savings account or a bank account, compared to a UK average of 8%.
    12. Only 57% of single parent households have some sort of savings account.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. This report is to be published primarily on the DSD website, http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/statistics-research/introduction.asp
    2. with a paper copy available on request from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) team in DSD Statistics and Research Branch addressed to:

    Claire Savage,
    Statistics & Research Branch, Block 4.3,
    Castle Buildings,
    Stormont
    BT4 3SJ Tel - 028 90522762;
    Fax - 028 90522763;
    mailto:claire.savage@dsdni.gov.uk

  2. The comparable UK report was published on 30 March 2004, primarily on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) website, http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs

  3. The Family Resources Survey is a National Statistics publication.

  4. One of the key uses of FRS data is for analyses of the income distribution and living standards. Data from the 2002-03 NI FRS has been incorporated in the report ‘Households Below Average Income Northern Ireland 2002-03 Summary’.

  5. The latest edition of the DWP’s report on Households Below Average Income (HBAI), covering the UK, was published on 30 March 2004.

  6. Northern Ireland fieldwork is carried out by the Central Survey Unit, which is part of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Fieldwork for Great Britain is contracted to a consortium of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the National Centre for Social Research (formerly known as SCPR).

  7. The FRS is a voluntary survey and names of participating households remain confidential. In the 2002-03 survey year the overall response rate in Northern Ireland was 55 per cent. Households interviewed are asked a wide range of questions about their circumstances. Although some of the information collected is available elsewhere, the FRS provides new or much more detailed information in a number of areas and brings some topics together in one survey for the first time.

  8. All definitions used in the report are explained in the Introduction and the Glossary. All results are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors.

  9. It should be noted that questions on assets and savings are a sensitive part of the NI FRS questionnaire and have a relatively low level of response. Responses are edited in around 1 in 10 cases. Assets and savings may be under-reported.

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