I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 July 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what estimate has been made of the number of (a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples who lived in homes in each Council Tax band on the latest date for which figures are available (215833).
The table provided shows an estimate of the number of single adult retired households, and two or more adult retired households in each of England, Scotland, and Wales, by Council Tax band. A retired household is defined as a household where the income of all retired members accounts for more than 50 per cent of the household’s total income. These estimates are based on data collected in the Expenditure and Food Survey over the period 2004/05 to 2006/07.
Separate estimates are shown for England, Scotland, and Wales because Council Tax bands are based on different property valuation bands in each country and therefore there is no strict equivalence between the bands in the three countries. Council Tax bands in both England and Scotland were based on property valuations for April 1991, whereas bands in Wales were revised using valuations for April 2003. In Northern Ireland, Domestic Rates apply rather than Council Tax.
As these estimates are based on a household survey, they are subject to a degree of sampling error. This is particularly true of the estimates for Scotland and Wales which are based on a smaller sample of households.
The total number of households in each Council Tax band shown here are different to the figures based on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) valuation list.
While the Expenditure and Food Survey estimates shown here are grossed to population control totals (expressed in terms of numbers of individuals), the estimated number of households in each band will not be exactly the same as the numbers from the VOA list.
Thousand Type of retired household Single adult Two or more adults All retired households England Band A 835 403 1,238 Band B 648 412 1,060 Band C 552 527 1,079 Band D 467 575 1,042 Band E 195 369 563 Band F 90 200 290 Band G 48 154 203 Band H 8 14 21 Total 2,843 2,653 5,496 Scotland Band A 94 44 139 Band B 71 66 137 Band C 35 37 72 Band D 35 47 82 Band E 34 39 73 Band F 13 35 48 Band G 9 21 30 Band H 1 3 4 Total 293 292 585 Wales3 Band A 41 15 56 Band B 48 27 75 Band C 38 31 69 Band D 43 41 84 Band E 13 21 34 Band F 8 10 18 Band G 2 9 12 Band H 1 2 3 Total 196 156 351 1 A retired household is defined as a household where the income of all the retired members accounts for more than 50 per cent. of the total household income. 2 These estimates are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey, which uses a sample of households, and therefore the number of households in each Council Tax band will not be strictly consistent with the figures based on the Valuation Office Agency valuation list. 3 Data for Council Tax band T, the highest band which is used in Wales only, are unavailable. Source: Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics