§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the married population was represented by those previously divorced in each year since 1997. [60839]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Turner, dated 25 June 2002:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the proportion of the married population represented by those previously divorced in each year since 1997. (60839)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates by current marital status annually, but these are not additionally available by the previous marital status. Hence estimates of the married population are not available separately for those who had married for the first time, those who remarried after being divorced, and those who remarried after being widowed.
However, ONS has made some special estimates of the proportion of the married population who had remarried after a previous divorce, using the General Household Survey (GHS). Using the 1998 GHS for England and Wales, it is estimated that 15 per cent of married men had remarried after a previous divorce, and the corresponding figure for women was 14 per cent. The proportions for 2000 were the same as those for 1998. (There was no GHS in 1997 or 1999).
Of the 2000 population of men who had re-married after divorce, 7 per cent had divorced between 1997 and 1999, inclusive. The corresponding proportion for women who had remarried after divorce was 6 per cent. Small sample numbers do not allow reliable estimates for individual years of divorce to be made.