§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children under five years of age there are in the United Kingdom; and what are the projections for such numbers in(a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000. [27073]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 2 February 1998]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Cheryl Gillan, dated 3 February 1998:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me, as Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to reply to your recent question on the number of children under five years of age.There were an estimated 3.763 million children aged under five in the United Kingdom in 1996. The Government Actuary's 1996-based projections are for (a) 3.673 million in 1998, (b) 3.631 million in 1999 and (c) 3.611 million in 2000.