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Environmental and Social Costs

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the development of a progress indicator to take account of the environmental and social costs of economic activity as an alternative to gross domestic product; and if he will make a statement on the desirability of developing such an alternative measure. [10539]

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Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 22 January 1997]: The Office for National Statistics has examined the genuine progress indicator, but does not regard it as a good indicator; it sees more value in the preparation of a broad range of indicators such as those in the Department of Environment's "Indicators of Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom", and environmental accounts of which a pilot was published in Economic Trends in August 1996.

National Lottery

Mr. Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions he has incorporated about capital expenditure from the proceeds of the national lottery for each of the years covered in table 5.4 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1997-98. [10852]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 16 January 1997]: The amounts of capital expenditure financed from proceeds of the national lottery included in table 5.4 of the FSBR were:

National lottery capital expenditure

	£ million
1995-96(3)	130
1996-97	480
1997-98	960
1998-99	1,200
1999-90	1,440

(3) Outturn. These figures are for NLDF payments and exclude additional capital spending from the partnership contribution to lottery schemes.

Bank of England

Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 22 January, Official Report, column 606, what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of independence for the Bank of England. [13188]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The Chancellor carefully considered the case for granting greater autonomy to the Bank of England at the time of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's report on the role of the Bank of England. The Government, in response to that report, said that we believed the current institutional arrangements for monetary policy--including publishing the minutes of the Chancellor's monthly meetings with the Governor--were fully capable of meeting the targets that the Government have set for inflation. We also said that we remained concerned about the questions of accountability to Parliament, and to the public, that a move towards greater autonomy for the bank would raise.

Inflation

Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the consequences for the United Kingdom's future rate of inflation of the acceleration in the monetary--M4--growth between 1995 and 1996. [12926]

Mrs. Angela Knight: M4 is one of many indicators that the Chancellor considers when making his assessment of inflation prospects. Underlying inflation is currently just over 3 per cent. and is forecast in the Financial

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Statement and Budget Report, which is published with the Budget, to fall to 2½ per cent. by the second quarter of 1997.

Gross Domestic Product

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1978 (a) British, (b) German and (c) French GDP has dropped by more than the limits prescribed by the stability pact agreed at the Dublin summit in any one year. [12474]

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: The principles for the stability and growth pact agreed at the Dublin summit are intended to ensure that the Council of Ministers will assess deficits over the 3 per cent. reference value of participants in the single currency on a case by case basis. In the procedure, the Commission would as a rule consider an excess over the reference value to be exceptional only if there is an annual fall of real GDP of at least 2 per cent. The number of occasions when GDP has fallen by 2 per cent. or more since 1978 are (a) two (b) nil and (c) nil respectively.

The Council's assessment, however, will also take into account observations by a member state showing that an annual fall of less than 2 per cent. is nevertheless exceptional. The proposed European Council resolution contains an undertaking by the member states, in evaluating whether the economic downturn is severe, as a rule to take as a reference point an annual fall in real GDP of at least 0.75 per cent. The number of occasions when GDP has fallen by 0.75 per cent. or more since 1978 are (a) three (b) two and (c) one respectively.

Employment Statistics

Mr. Hain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the percentage of (a) workless non-pensioner households and (b) workless households with children together with the employment rate for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country for each year for which the figures are available since 1992; [10932]

(2) what are the most recent available percentage figures for (a) workless non-pensioner households, (b) workless households with children and (c) the unemployment rate for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each OECD country; and what are those figures for each year for which they are available since 1992. [11629]

Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 22 January 1997]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Peter Hain, dated 28 January 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions (10932 and 11629) on the employment rates and the percentage of workless households in European Union and OECD countries.
Information about employment and population for the European Union countries is published in Table 18 and Table 10 of Eurostat's Labour Force Survey Results for each year between 1992 and 1995.
Information about employment and population for the OCED countries is published in OECD's annual Labour Force Statistics 1974-1994 and in Quarterly Labour Force Statistics; Number 4

28 Jan 1997 : Column: 147

1996. Information about population is published on page 18 to 21 of the annual publication and on page 82 of the quarterly publication. Information about employment is published on pages 26 and 34 of the annual publication and from page 8 onwards of the quarterly publication. Copies of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
The available information for the United Kingdom about the percentage of non-pensioner household with no one in employment and non-pensioner households with children with no one in employment is shown in the attached table. This information is not available for the other countries requested.
Percentage of non-pensioner households with no one in employmentUnited Kingdom

	All	With dependent children(4)
Spring 1992	18.1	17.2
Spring 1993	19.4	18.1
Spring 1994	19.4	18.7
Spring 1995	18.2	18.5
Spring 1996	18.2	18.5
Summer 1996	17.9	18.1




Source:

ONS, Labour Force Survey.

(4) Children aged 0-15 and 16-18 years old in non-advanced further education.

Mr. Hain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the percentage change in employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (a) each European Union state and (b) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10933]

(2) if he will list, as percentages, (a) the level and (b) the change in youth employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10934]

(3) if he will list, as percentages, (a) the level and (b) the change in youth unemployment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10935]

(4) if he will list, as percentages, (a) the level and (b) the change in those unemployed for more than a year between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10936]

(5) if he will list, as percentages, (a) the level and (b) the change in part-time employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10937]

(6) if he will list, as percentages, (a) the level and (b) the change in full-time employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state and (ii) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [10938]

(7) what was the percentage change in employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (a) each European Union state and (b) each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country; [11630]

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(8) what were the percentage figures for (a) the level and (b) the change in (i) youth employment and (ii) youth unemployment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available in (1) each European Union state and (2) each OECD country; [11631]

(9) what were (a) the percentage figures for those unemployed for more than a year and (b) the percentage change in these figures between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (i) each European Union state an (ii) each OECD country; [11632]

(10) what were the percentage figures for (a) the level and (b) the change in (i) part-time employment and (ii) full-time employment between 1992 and the latest year for which figures are available for (1) each European Union state and (2) each OECD country. [11633]

Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 22 January 1997]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Peter Hain, dated 28 January 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions (10933, 10934, 10935, 10936, 10937, 10938, 11630, 11631, 11632 and 11633) on full-time employment, part time-employment, youth employment, youth unemployment and long term unemployment in the European and OECD countries.

Employment information for the European Union (EU) countries is published in Eurostat's Labour Force Survey Results at 1992 and 1995. Information by age group is published in Table 18 and information by full-time and part-time status in Table 50.
Employment information for the OECD countries is published in OECD's Labour Force Statistics 1974-1994 and in Quarterly Labour Force Statistics; November 4 1996. However, these publications do not provide a breakdown by age group or by full-time and part-time status.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment levels and rates by age and duration in each EU country are published in the Eurostat Labour Force Survey Results publication.
For those OECD countries who are not members of the EU the available information is limited to unemployment rates analysed by age. These are published in the OECD's annual Labour Force Statistics 1974-1994. Because of minor technical differences in the detailed compilation of the figures, the statistics published by OECD may not exactly match those published by Eurostat. However, like Eurostat, the OECD follows the ILO guidelines on definitions.
Copies of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library.

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