§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in Northern Ireland will be aged(a) three and (b) four in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999. [1176]
§ Sir John WheelerResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Statistics and Research Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Edgar Jardine. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from E. F. Jardine to Ms Majorie Mowlam, dated 30 October 1996:
You recently tabled a parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in Northern Ireland will be aged (a) three and (b) four in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999. I have been asked to reply in my capacity as Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.Projections of the population of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom are produced by the Government Actuary's Department (London). The information requested is shown in the table below. The figures represent the projection for the age group in question at the mid-year period (30 June).
Year 3-year-olds 4-year-olds 1996 25,015 26,279 1997 24,545 25,015 1998 24,233 24,535 1999 23,884 24,219 I trust this information is sufficient and if I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.