§ 82. Sir H. Williamsasked the Minister of Health whether he will furnish an estimate of the present number of persons in the United Kingdom of working age, that is to say, between the ages of 14 and 65; the number of persons of old age pension age, that is to say, over the age of 65; and, for comparison, the estimated number in these two groups predicted for the year 1962?
§ Mr. E. BrownIncluding the figures for Scotland, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has given me, the estimated present numbers of persons in Great Britain, inclusive of persons in the Forces at home and overseas, at the age groups referred to in the Question are 33,443,000 and 4,500,000 respectively. On the basis of the projections adopted for the population forecasts described in the recent White Paper, the projected population of Great Britain at these age groups in 1962 would be approximately 32,700,000 and 6,600,000 respectively. I understand that comparable figures for Northern Ireland are not available.
§ Sir H. WilliamsI gather that in the future many fewer people will have to keep a great many more.