§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if any estimates have been made of the likely effects on the demand for houses and flats of the future decline in the population of marriageable age together with the effects of the continuing increase in both the number of single parents and the number of broken marriages; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeMy Department has published estimates of the future number of households, most recently in "1985 Based Estimates of Numbers of Households in England". These estimates are derived from the official projections of the population, analysed by sex, marital status, and age. They therefore take account of the change in the population of marriageable age, and in divorce rates. They take account also of the proportion of never-married women who head lone-parent households. These demographic influences interact, so their effect on the number of households cannot be estimated individually. The number of households will be a strong influence on the future demand for separate dwellings, but there are other important influences as well, notably changes in income. No estimate has been made of total demand for separate dwellings. The Government have however accepted from the London and south-east regional planning conference a figure of 570,000 for the increase in the housing stock in the south-east region between 1991 and 2001.