§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners do not have a telephone, broken down by region expressed as(a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year in which figures are available. [30587]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane dated 30 January 2002:
366WAs National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on numbers of pensioners that do not have a phone by region. (30587)Estimates of pensioner households without a telephone by region are shown in the attached table. They are from the three most recent years of the Family Expenditure Survey, 1998–99 to 2000–01, combined to improve the reliability of the regional breakdowns of this group. Pensioner households have been defined as those with a retired head.Like all estimates from sample surveys these figures are subject to sampling variability. This is greater for estimates of a sub-group such as pensioner households than for all households.
Pensioner households without telephone by Government office region and UK countries: 1998–99 to 2000–01 Households without telephone Percentage Number (Thousand) North East 7 18 Northern Ireland 6 8 East Midlands 5 17 North West 4 28 Scotland 4 21 West Midlands 4 19 Yorkshire and the Humber 4 16 South West 3 16 East 3 17 Wales 3 8 London 2 14 South East 2 17 Source:
Office for National Statistics, Family Expenditure Surveys 1999–2000 and 2000–01.