asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest projections of the probable size of the working population in five, 10 and 15 years' time, respectively; and what is the expected proportion of males and females in each case.

The latest official projections of the labour force are those described in the June 1977 Department of Employment Gazette and published in more detail in the April 1979 issue. These indicated that the size of the labour force in Great Britain would be 27½ million in 1984 and 28½ million in both 1989 and 1991, the latest year for which projections were made. These projections were based on trends up to 1975 when the labour force is estimated to have been 25·6 million. The proportion of women in the labour force was projected to increase very slightly to just over 40 per cent. in 1991. These long term projections are subject to considerable margins of error and become out of date as circumstances change. The projections are currently under review in the light of more recent information. Revised projections will be published next year.