asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the life expectancy at birth for men and women in each of the following years: 1900, 1920, 1940, 1960 and 1975.

The available information on expectations of life at birth (in years) for males and females is as follows:

	Males	Females
1901–1910	48·5	52·4
1920–1922	55·6	59·6
1930–1932	58·7	62·9
1950–1952	66·4	71·5
1960–1962	68·1	74·0
1972–1974	69·2	75·6

The figures are based on the mortality experience during the periods shown, and do not therefore represent the expectations of life of people who were born in those years.