The report of the 2001-02 General Household Survey was published. The survey is a multi-purpose continuous survey which collects information on a range of topics from people living in private households in Great Britain.
Source: Alison Walker, Maureen O Brien, Joe Traynor, Kate Fox, Eileen Goddard and Kate Foster, Living in Britain: Results from the 2001/02 General Household Survey, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Guardian report
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 12.2
Date: 2002-Dec
A survey found that people are eating more fruit and vegetables on average than they were fifteen years ago. The survey was the first comprehensive examination of adult eating patterns since 1987, when the survey was last carried out.
Source: National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Adults aged 19 to 64 years, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
The 19th report of British Social Attitudes examined a wide range of issues including family ties, union membership, public support for state spending, trust in state secondary schools, legalisation of cannabis, regional assemblies, and attitudes towards homosexuality.
Source: Alison Park, John Curtice, Katarina Thomson, Lindsey Jarvis, and Catherine Bromley (eds.), British Social Attitudes: The 19th Report, Sage (020 7374 0645)
Links: Summary (Word file) | Guardian report
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 12.2
Date: 2002-Dec
The 2002 annual official compendium of housing statistics for England was published. At the end of March 2002 there were 21.3 million dwellings, an increase of 1.44 million (7 per cent) since March 1992. 14.9 million were owner occupied, 4.2 million were rented from a local authority or a registered social landlord, and 2.2 million were rented privately.
Source: Housing Statistics 2002, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 30/3, Digest 119, paragraph 4.1
Date: 2002-Dec
A think-tank pamphlet argued that concerns over future demographic changes have been greatly exaggerated. It said that older people should be enabled to lead active and independent lives for longer, and that we need to stem and reverse actions taken by governments and other institutions (as a response to the fears about an ageing population) which are making things worse.
Source: The Challenge of Longer Life: Economic burden or social opportunity?, Catalyst, available from Central Books (020 8986 4854)
Links: Summary
Date: 2002-Dec
In 2001-02 average weekly spending by households in the United Kingdom estimated from the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS) was 398, compared to 386 in the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) for 2000-01. (The EFS was launched in April 2001 and replaces the FES and the National Food Survey.)
Source: Press release 20.12.02, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Press release (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
The number of households in England in mid 2001 was estimated to be 20.715 million. This estimate was derived from the Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates that are based on the 2001 Census. The estimates were interim, subject to adjustment following further population information becoming available from the 2001 Census. The 2001 mid-year household estimates were mostly lower than the equivalent estimates for 2000.
Source: Interim Mid-year Household Estimates for England for 2001, Housing Statistics Summary 15, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (fax: 020 7944 4527)
Links: Summary (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 12.1
Date: 2002-Dec
The official yearbook of the United Kingdom was published, providing a 'comprehensive and authoritative snapshot' of social, economic, environmental, and cultural affairs.
Source: UK 2003 - The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Links to tables and maps | Press release (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
The government published a report analysing long-term economic and demographic developments, and their likely impact on the public finances. It said that the United Kingdom's fiscal position is sustainable in the long term on the basis of current policies, and that there is a high degree of 'intergenerational fairness'.
Source: Long-Term Public Finance Report: An analysis of fiscal sustainability, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Nov
An interim report was published on an official project to devise a 'town and city indicators database', designed to track progress and to lead to a better understanding of change in urban areas.
Source: Town and City Indicators Database: Interim report, Policy Evaluation & Analysis Research Laboratory/University of Liverpool (0151 7943120), Institute for Employment Research/University of Warwick, and Centre for Urban and Regional Strategy/University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2002-Oct
A comprehensive report was published on the state of children in the United Kingdom. It found that in 2000-01 just under a third of children were living in relative poverty; that child poverty had increased more than threefold in the previous 20 years; and that the highest rate of increase in chronic ill health was among children: however, most young people were achieving better qualifications at school and fewer were leaving with no qualifications. 'Striking disparities' were found between different parts of the UK.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw (ed.), The Well-being of Children in the UK, Save the Children, available from Plymbridge Distributors Ltd (01725 202301)
Links: Summary (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Sep
A new annual compendium of healthcare statistics charted trends in spending on health, provision of healthcare services, and life expectancy and mortality. The author reportedly warned that the government is in danger of wasting billions of pounds by increasing spending on the National Health Service too quickly.
Source: Peter Yuen, Compendium of Health Statistics (14th edition), Office of Health Economics (020 7930 9203) | The Guardian, 26.9.02
Links: Summary | Guardian report
Date: 2002-Sep
The Office for National Statistics reportedly confirmed that it has begun asking questions about people's sexuality as part of a regular face-to-face survey, in an attempt to establish reliable estimates of the gay population.
Source: The Observer, 11.8.02
Links: Observer article
Date: 2002-Aug