§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what life expectancy in the UK was in each year since 1997, broken down by(a) region, (b) sex and (c) social class. [178935]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 17 June 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what life expectancy in the UK was in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) region, (b) sex and (c) social class. (178935)
Figures for life expectancy at birth for the UK and its constituent countries are published annually by the Government Actuary's Department. Figures for life expectancy at birth for English regions are published annually by ONS. Both sets of figures are based on three-year rolling averages and are calculated separately for males and females. The most recent available figures are for 2000–02. Figures covering the years requested are given in the attached tables 1 and 2.
Figures by social class are derived using the ONS Longitudinal Study. This is a 1 per cent sample of the population and therefore annual comparisons cannot be made reliably. The most recent available figures are for 1997–99 and are provided in the attached table 3.
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Table 1: Life expectancy at birth United Kingdom and constituent countries, since the period 1996–98 Life expectancy in years Three-year rolling averages Area 1996–98 1997–99 1998–2000 1999–01 2000–02 Male United Kingdom 74.50 74.73 75.00 75.33 75.68 England 74.76 74.99 75.28 75.62 75.97 Wales 74.24 74.36 74.66 74.92 75.41 Scotland 72.40 72.64 72.84 73.10 73.31 Northern Ireland 74.16 74.27 74.48 74.79 75.20 Female United Kingdom 79.56 79.69 79.90 80.13 80.39 England 79.76 79.89 80.10 80.34 80.60 Wales 79.28 79.36 79.59 79.80 80.08 Scotland 78.04 78.18 78.35 78.56 78.78 Northern Ireland 79.49 79.46 79.55 79.75 80.13 Source: Government Actuary's Department (http://www.gad.gov.uk/Life_Tables/Interim_Life_tables.htm)
Table 2: Life expectancy at birth Government Office Regions in England, since the period 1996–98 Life expectancy in years Three-year rolling averages Area 1996–98 1997–99 1998–2000 1999–01 2000–02 Male North East 73.2 73.5 73.8 74.2 74.5 North West 73.4 73.5 73.8 74.1 74.5 Yorkshire and The Humber 74.2 74.4 74.7 75.1 75.4 East Midlands 74.9 75.1 75.3 75.7 76.1 West Midlands 74.5 74.6 74.8 75.1 75.4 East of England 76.1 76.3 76.5 76.8 77.0 London 74.4 74.8 75.0 75.4 75.7 South East 76.1 76.3 76.6 76.9 77.2 South West 76.0 76.4 76.6 76.9 77.1 Female North East 78.4 78.5 78.7 79.0 79.3 North West 78.5 78.6 78.9 79.1 79.4 Yorkshire and The Humber 79.3 79.5 79.7 80.0 80.2 East Midlands 79.8 79.9 80.1 80.3 80.5 West Midlands 79.6 79.7 79.8 80.0 80.3 East of England 80.7 80.8 81.0 81.2 81.4 London 79.9 80.0 80.3 80.5 80.7 South East 80.7 80.9 81.1 81.3 81.5 South West 81.0 81.1 81.3 81.5 81.7 Source: Office for National Statistics (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vink = 8841)
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Table 3: Life expectancy at birth by social class England and Wales, period 1997–99 Life expectancy in years Three-year rolling average Social class Male Female I Professional 78.5 82.8 II Managerial and technical/intermediate 77.5 81.5 III N Skilled non-manual 76.2 81.2 III M Skilled manual 74.7 79.2 IV Partly skilled 72.7 78.5 V Unskilled 71.1 77.1 Source: Donkin A, Goldblatt Pand Lynch K. (2002) Inequalities in life expectancy by social class, 1972–1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 15, 5–15.