HC Deb 03 March 1988 vol 128 cc691-3W
Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to what percentage of people(a) over 70 years and (b) over 80 years are able to do their own shopping, cooking, housework and personal care.

Mrs. Currie

The 1985 general household survey shows the following percentages of people aged 70 and over and 80 and over who can perform the tasks listed on their own:

Aged 70 and over Aged 80 and over
Per cent. Per cent.
Cook a main meal 90 81
Do the household shopping 81 61
Wash small amount of clothing by hand 90 80
Brush hair or shave 98 96
Cut own toenails 65 46
Bath, shower or wash all over 89 78
Clean windows 76 55
Sweep floors 85 71
Do jobs involving climbing a stepladder or steps 62 39
Wash face and hands 99 98

The 1985 general household survey interviewed nearly 20,000 people aged 16 and over living in private households in Great Britain.

Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of people over the age of 70 years and over the age of 80 years (i) live at home, (ii) live with members of their family, (iii) live in sheltered accommodation and (iv) live in residential homes, institutions or hospitals.

Mrs. Currie

The information is not available precisely as requested but in the 1981 census the percentage of people in Great Britain who were not resident in private households (that is lived in hospitals, homes, communal establishments or other institutions) was 5.2 per cent. of those aged 70 and over and 12.2 per cent. of those aged 80 and over. The general household survey does not cover institutional populations but provides the following information about people resident in private households:

Great Britain, 1985
Percentages
Household type Aged 70 and over Aged 80 and over
Living alone or with spouse only 82 75
Living with spouse and others 5 4
Living with siblings or children 11 19
Other 2 2

Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to what percentage of people over the age of(a) 70 years and (b) 80 years are (i) mentally fit and (ii) physically fit.

Mrs. Currie

I regret that we do not hold this information.

Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the projection for numbers of people who will be(a) over 80 years, (b) over 90 years and (c) over 100 years in five, 10, 20 and 25 years, respectively.

Mrs. Currie

The information available is shown in the table for the United Kingdom, using 1986 as the reference year.

United Kingdom
Projected resident population at mid year1 (in thousands)
Age 1986 1991 1996 2006 2011
80 years and over 1,841 2,150 2,365 2,637 2,678
90 years and over 201 254 329 452 492
100 years and over .. .. .. .. ..
1 Source: Mid 1985-based principal population projections prepared by the Government Actuary.
.. denotes not available.

Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the figures for 1987, 1977, 1967 and 1958 of the number of people living in the United Kingdom aged over 100 years, aged over 90 years and aged over 80 years.

Mrs. Currie

The information available for the years and age bands requested is shown in the table. Figures for mid-1986 are the latest available.

United Kingdom
Estimated resident population at mid-year (in thousands)
Age 1986 1977 1967 1958
80 years and over 1,841 1,414 1,180 945
90 years and over 201 152 .. ..
100 years and over .. .. .. ..
..denotes not available.

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