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14 Jan 2009 : Column 748W—continued

Life Expectancy

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the life expectancy of (a) men and (b) women in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) England was (A) in 1987, (B) in 1992, (C) in 1997, (D) in 2001, (E) in 2005 and (F) at the latest date for which information is available. [247601]

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the life expectancy of (a) men and (b) women in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) England was (A) in 1987, (B) in 1992, (C) in 1997, (D) in 2001, (E) in 2005 and (F) at the latest date for which information is available. (247601)

Life expectancy figures are calculated as three year rolling averages and are available from 1991-93 onwards for local authorities and government office regions. Figures for counties are only available for 2005-07, therefore figures have also been given for Yorkshire and The Humber government office region.

The table below provides the period life expectancy at birth for (a) men and (b) women in (i) North Yorkshire county, (ii) Yorkshire and The Humber and (iii) England for 1991-93, 1996-98, 2000-02, 2004-06 and 2005-07 (the latest figures available).

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Table 1: Period life expectancy at birth( 1) , North Yorkshire county, Yorkshire and The Humber government office region and England( 2) ,1991-93, 1996-98,2000-02, 2004-06 and 2005-07( 3)
Years of life
	Sex	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	England
1991-93	Male	—	73	74
	Female	—	79	79
1996-98	Male	—	74	75
	Female	—	79	80
2000-02	Male	—	75	76
	Female	—	80	81
2004-06	Male	—	77	77
	Female	—	81	82
2005-07	Male	79	77	78
	Female	83	81	82
(1) Period life expectancy at birth is an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. The figure reflects mortality among those living in the area in each time period, rather than mortality among those born in each area. It is not therefore the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives. (2) Using boundaries as of 2008 for all the years shown. (3) Three year rolling averages, based on deaths registered in each year and mid-year population estimates.

National Income

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the change in UK gross domestic product was in each year since 1997-98. [247605]

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting details of the change in gross domestic product in each year since 1997-98. (247605)

Table A provides the latest GDP figures in real terms together with the annual growth rates for each calendar year since 1997. Data for 2008 will be first available with the publication of the Preliminary Estimate of GDP for the Fourth Quarter on 23 January.

Table A
	GDP in real terms ( £ million ) (ABMI)	Percentage growth rate (I HYP)
1997	951,208	3.3
1998	985,506	3.6
1999	1,019,735	3.5
2000	1,059,658	3.9
2001	1,085,745	2.5
2002	1,108,508	2.1
2003	1,139,746	2.8
2004	1,171,178	2.8
2005	1,195,276	2.1
2006	1,229,196	2.8
2007	1,266,680	3.0
Note: These figures are based on data published on 23 December 2008.

Non-profit Making Associations

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the third sector of his Department’s strategy for commissioning public services. [246142]

Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effects on the third sector of his Department's strategies for commissioning public services. [246363]

Kevin Brennan: Following the Public Administration Select Committee’s report on ‘Public Services and the
14 Jan 2009 : Column 750W
Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality’, the Government Response was published on 11 December 2008. This included an assessment of how far the Government’s vision of the state and the third sector working together at all levels and as equal partners can bring about real change in our public services. The Government welcomed the Committee’s recognition of the capacity of the sector to deliver excellent and innovative public services but also acknowledged the need to build a robust evidence base that supports the case for more public and private investment in the third sector as a delivery partner. This is why, through the Office of the Third Sector, £5 million has been invested in a new third sector research centre, led by Birmingham university, which will collect and disseminate evidence about the true social and economic value of the sector to society. Government are also investing in a four-year National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning, which is providing training for up to 3,000 commissioners of public services to ensure they get the best out of working with the third sector.

Pensioners

Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) men and (b) women he estimates will reach state pension age between the end of the first full week in December 2008 and the end of (i) January and (ii) February 2009. [246585]

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question asking how many (a) men and (b) women it is estimated will reach state pension age between the end of the first full week in December 2008 and the end of (i) January and (ii) February 2009 (246585).

The numbers of men and women projected to reach state pension age in Great Britain are:

8 December 2008 to 31 January 2009 inclusive: 46,000 males and 56,000 females

8 December 2008 to 28 February 2009 inclusive: 69,000 males and 85,000 females

These estimates are derived from the 2006-based national population projections for Great Britain published in October 2007.

Strategic Communications Unit

Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what were the running costs of the Downing Street (a) strategic communications unit and (b) digital communications unit in the most recent year for which figures are available. [241773]

Mr. Byrne: The communications budget, which includes the costs associated with the Strategic Communications Unit and the Press Office, for the financial year 2007-08 was £2.46 million. For the cost of digital communications I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1482W.

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Voluntary Work

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of his Department’s policies on support for volunteering. [246144]

Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of his Department’s policies designed to support volunteering. [246364]

Kevin Brennan: Over the 2008-11 CSR period the Office of the Third Sector will be investing £150 million in volunteering programmes. This supports a range of programmes including v, GoldStar, Volunteering for All and strategic funding to large national organisations.

The monitoring of these projects consists of formal monitoring meetings with delivery partners, tracking of volunteering numbers through the Government’s Citizenship Survey and, where appropriate, external programme evaluations.

In relation to the specific programmes, recent assessments show that v has created 875,000 volunteering opportunities since its launch in 2006, the GoldStar programme has run a programme of activities to promote good practice in volunteering and Volunteering for All has successfully delivered a number of campaigns to promote volunteering to groups at risk of social exclusion.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the reason was for the time taken to reply to the hon. Member for Thurrock's question 231272 on assistant regional Ministers, tabled on 23 October 2008; and on what date a final draft answer was submitted to him for approval. [241210]

Mr. Byrne: I have nothing further to add to the answer provided to my hon. Friend on 24 November 2008.

Young People

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) male and (b) female 18-year- olds there were in each year since 2005; and how many of each there are expected to be in each year to 2015. [247129]

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding how many (a) male and (b) female 18-year-olds there were in each year since 2005 and what the Office for National Statistics projects the number of 18-year-olds to be in each year to 2015. (247129)

The table below shows the United Kingdom population of males and females aged 18 for each year from 2005 to 2015. The figures up to and including 2007 are population estimates. The most recent national population projections, based on the population at the middle of 2006, have been used to provide the estimated population aged 18 from 2008 to 2015.

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Population aged 18, United Kingdom, 2005 to 2015
Thousand
	Population aged 18
	Males	Females
Population estimates
2005	405	385
2006	417	392
2007	412	388
Population projections( 1)
2008	417	392
2009	423	396
2010	415	391
2011	403	377
2012	398	372
2013	389	364
2014	386	362
2015	389	365
(1) 2006-based national population projections, ONS

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