§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of children in England took holidays overseas in each of the last seven years. [165580]
§ Mr. BoatengThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
374WLetter from Len Cook to Tim Loughton, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the proportion of children in England that took holidays overseas in each of the last seven years.
The information requested is not available. However, the Office for National Statistics conducts the International Passenger Survey (IPS) which interviews people as they enter or leave the country. The IPS counts visits, and people who make more than one visit in a year can be counted more than once. From that source ONS can estimate the number of visits abroad made by UK residents aged under 16. The number of these visits, and the number of visits per 1,000 UK residents aged under 16. are shown in the table below for each of the last 7 years (1997–2003).
Number of visits made by under 16s (thousands) Number of visits made per thousand under 16s1 1997 4010 334 1998 4124 343 1999 4710 392 2000 4821 403 2001 5083 429 2002 5144 437 2003 5141 2— Notes: 1 A single child may make several visits abroad in one year. 2 2003 population estimates are not yet available.