asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his best estimate of the number of (a) 16 and (b) 17-year-olds in Wales in each year from 1983 to 1988.

The information is given as follows:

1979 Based Home Population Projections for Wales
Year	16 year-olds Thousands	17 year-olds Thousands
1983	44·7	44·8
1984	42·8	44·6
1985	44·0	42·7
1986	42·7	43·9
1987	43·9	42·5
1988	41·6	43·7

These estimates do not take account of the 1981 census of population. Projections based on 1981, taking account of the census, will be available towards the end of 1983.