§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Green Paper, Cm 3805, "New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare", page 83, what assessment he has made of the health of the population as a whole in terms of(a) longevity and (b) years free of illness, at present and as at April 1997 and March 1998. [54605]
§ Ms JowellNo data on longevity or on years free of illness are available for the present moment in time or for April 1997 or March 1998. The most recent data on expectation of life at birth in England and Wales are based on an average of 1994, 1995 and 1996 and are 74.4 years for males and 79.6 years for females. The most recent estimates available for the average expectation of life free794W of self-reported limiting long-standing illness are for 1994 and are 59.2 years in males and 62.2 years in females. The latter figures were presented in the "Our Healthier Nation" Green Paper published in February 1998.