Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 December 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2004. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Monday, 26 January 2004 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Cabinet Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of (a) under 15 year olds, (b) 15 to 24 year olds, (c) 25 to 34 year olds, (d) 35 to 44 year olds, (e) 45 to 54 year olds, (f) 55 to 64 year olds and (g) over 65 year olds are regular users of the internet. - Inc table and ref to www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc1203.pdf.

Answer: Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of (a) under 15- year-olds, (b) 15 to 24-year-olds, (c) 25 to 34-year-olds, (d) 35 to 44-year-olds, (e) 45 to 54-year-olds, (f) 55 to 64-year-olds and (g) over 65-year-olds are regular users of the internet. [146118] Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply. 58 per cent. of the adult population are now regular users of the internet compared to 40 per cent. in October 2000. The figures in the table from the National Statistic Omnibus survey show adults in Great Britain who had accessed the internet in the three months prior to interview in October 2003. They are broken down by age group as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Age in years Percentage 16 to 24 88 25 to 44 76 45 to 54 64 55 to 64 45 65 and over 16 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Full results are available at www.statistics.gov.uk/ pdfdir/intc1203.pdf While the ONS Omnibus survey only focuses on those over 16, DfES commission a `young people and ICT' survey each year. The latest results, from a survey in Autumn 2002 found that 84 per cent. of 5 to 18-year- olds use the internet. Full results are available at www.becta.org.uk.

Secondary information