§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's definition of elderly is; and what proportion of the population in each region is considered elderly. [68535]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Bill Wiggin dated 10 July 2002:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the definition of what elderly is, and what proportion of the population in each region is considered elderly. (68535).In response to your question, there is no official definition of what elderly is, but it is usually taken to include those who have reached retirement age, currently 65 for men and 60 for women. On this basis, the percentages of total population by Government Office Region for England. and for Wales, are given in the attached table.
Estimated resident population mid-2000: retirement age population as percentage of total Percentage of population by Government Office Region for England, and for wales percentage of total GOR population North East 18.8 North West 18.2 Yorkshire and The Humber 18.3 East Midlands 18.4 West Midlands 18.2 East 18.5 London 14.3 South East 18.5 South West 21.0 Wales 19.0 Source:
Office for National Statistics, Population Estimates Unit