§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into future trends in cohabitation; and how such trends will be taken into account in the next set of household projections. [52263]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Government's Actuary's Department (GAD) are responsible for producing marital status projections, both for legal marital status and for cohabitation status. GAD' s 1992-based projections of marital status were used to compile the 1992-based household projections. GAD are currently developing 1996-based marital status projections to be used in the next set of household projections. In carrying out the revision to the marital status projections, GAD are consulting a number of other Government departments, including my Department, as well as a number of leading academics.
The effects of marriage, cohabitation and divorce are inter-related. Data on marriages and divorces are obtained from civil registration and the census. As well as the 1991 Census, data on cohabitation are collected by the General Household Survey, and the Labour Force Survey, both of which are undertaken by the Office for National Statistics. All this information is currently being considered by GAD in its work.