§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures he is pursuing to reduce growth in the number of households in England and Wales.[15768]
§ Mr. RaynsfordHousehold growth reflects demographic factors, changes in age structure and deep-seated social trends. There is therefore little scope for the Government to influence the numbers even if they believed it was appropriate to do so.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received contesting his Department's projections for household growth set out in Command Paper 2901. [15770]
§ Mr. RaynsfordCommand 2901, the last Administration's Housing White Paper, did not contain household projections. I assume that the question refers to my Department's document "Projections of Households in England to 2016", published in 1995. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mrs. Brinton) on 3 November,Official Report, column 56.