§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the(a) number and (b) percentage of pensioner households that do not have (i) a telephone, (ii) e-mail and (iii) internet facilities. [45687]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Mr. Webb to Mr. Len Cook, dated 25 March 2002:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the number and percentage of pensioner households that do not have (I) a telephone, (ii) e-mail and (iii) internet facilities. (45687).The General Household Survey classifies pensioner households as those which contain a man aged 65 or over, or a woman aged 60 or over. Other non-pension age persons may also be in the household.Unpublished data from the General Household Survey show that in Great Britain in 2000 (the most recent year available):
- 161,000 pensioner households did not have a telephone
- 6,688,000 pensioner households did not have internet facilities
These figures have been weighted and grossed to population values from the survey sample.
- 2% of pensioner households did not have a telephone
- 89% of pensioner households did not have internet facilities
These percentages are based on a weighted figure of 7,528,000 pensioner households in Great Britain (2649 in the survey sample).The survey does not have information on e-mail.