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Job Creation
Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Treasury press release 60/97 of 4 June 1997, which European institutions will have direct responsibilities for creating jobs for all those living in Europe. [3358]
Mrs. Liddell: It is for the Governments of the member states to have the policies in place which create the economic conditions which enable employment to flourish, rather than for European institutions to create jobs. But the European institutions do have important roles to play in extending and policing the internal market in the EU and in facilitating dialogue between the member states on how to tackle unemployment.
Channel 4
Mr. Green: To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue which would be raised by the privatisation of Channel 4. [3324]
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: The proceeds from any hypothetical privatisation depend on the method of sale.
Euro
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what study his Department has undertaken of the likely effect on prices of the rounding up of the sterling-euro fractional differential if the United Kingdom adopts the euro. [6097]
Mrs. Liddell:
My department has not undertaken any studies of the possible effects on prices, if any, of rounding the results of converting between sterling and the euro if the United Kingdom were to adopt the single currency.
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Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Nordic gold would be required if the United Kingdom were to join the euro; what the total requirement for the euro zone would be; and what the current stocks are. [6852]
Mrs. Liddell:
The proposed Council Regulation (EC) on denominations and specifications of euro coins intended for circulation in countries which adopt the single currency has not been formally adopted. It proposes that three of the eight denominations of euro coins should be made of an alloy called Nordic gold. It is estimated that if this proposal were adopted, and if the United Kingdom were to participate in the single currency, approximately 20,000 tonnes of Nordic gold would be required to manufacture the necessary coins for circulation in the United Kingdom. The total required within the European Community if the proposal were to be adopted would depend on which countries participate in the single currency. Materials for coin production would be produced to order as required in such circumstances.
Mr. Paice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross earned income for a married couple with average household income was taken by (a) income tax, (b) national insurance, (c) VAT and (d) excise duties, during the year 1996-97. [3349]
Dawn Primarolo:
The information requested can be obtained from Table 13.7b of the Tax Benefit Reference Manual 1997-98 Edition, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what European Union funds have been deposited in banks that have subsequently collapsed; and what sums have been lost. [6770]
Mrs. Liddell:
None in the United Kingdom or, so far as we are aware, elsewhere, but only the European Commission would be able to provide a definitive answer.
Ms Oona King:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people aged under 25 years in (a) Newham, (b) Tower Hamlets, (c) Hackney, (d) Redbridge, (e) Waltham Forest, (f) Barking and Dagenham and (g) the United Kingdom have been unemployed for more than six months; and, in each case, what percentage this figure is of all economically active people aged under 25 years; [6811]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 7 July 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 given.
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Letter from Tim Holt to Ms Oona King, dated 8 July 1997:
Mrs. Liddell:
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 Ms Joan Walley, dated 8 July 1997:
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(2) how many people aged over 25 years in (a) Newham, (b) Tower Hamlets, (c) Hackney, (d) Redbridge, (e) Waltham Forest, (f) Barking and Degenham and (g) the United Kingdom have been unemployed for more than two years; and in each case, what percentage this figure is of all economically active people aged over 25 years. [6812]
Ms Walley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) males and (b) females in the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent, North have been unemployed for (i) under six months, (ii) over six months, (iii) over 12 months and (iv) over 18 months. [6864]
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions on the duration of unemployment of under and over 25 year olds.
The measure of unemployment, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS), is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: a) without a paid job; b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. However, largely because it is a sample survey, information is not available from the LFS in as much geographical detail as from the claimant count measure described below.
ONS also publishes the monthly claimant count, which is based on the administrative system and includes all people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or National Insurance credits) at Employment Service offices on the day of the monthly count, who on that day had signed on as unemployed and available to do any suitable work. Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign are counted, irrespective of whether they are actually receiving benefit.
The data you have requested for London local authority districts can only be derived from the claimant count, as the Labour Force Survey does not provide sufficient detail at this level. As the concept of "economically active" is an ILO one, it is not compatible with claimant count data, and therefore percentages are not given for claimant figures.
The latest available data, April 1997, for under 25 year olds and over 25 year olds claiming unemployment-related benefits for over 6 months and 2 years respectively are shown in the attached table.
The winter 1996/7 LFS shows there were 262,000 (5.7 per cent of economically active in the same age group) people aged 16-24 and 467,000 (1.9 per cent. of economically active in the same age group) people aged 25 and over who have been ILO unemployed for 6 months or more and 2 years or more respectively.
Under 25 year old claimants Over 25 year old claimants
Newham 1,844 2,839
Tower Hamlets 1,490 2,540
Hackney 2,046 4,516
Redbridge 728 1,523
Waltham Forest 1,195 2,363
Barking and Dagenham 615 1,085
United Kingdom 179,569 326,670
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question (6864) on the duration of unemployment of males and females in the Stoke-on-Trent North parliamentary constituency.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged 18 to 24 years have come off unemployment benefit in each of the last five years in the constituency of Stoke on Trent, North and into what activity they moved. [6865]
The data you have requested can only be derived from the monthly count of people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance or National Insurance credits). Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign on the designated day are counted.
The figures in the table below are for April 1997, the latest date for which figures are available.
Males Females
Claiming for under 6 months 770 226
Claiming for over 6 months 710 174
of which claiming for over 12 months 452 94
of which claiming for over 18 months 300 59
Mrs. Liddell: 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 Ms Joan Walley, dated 8 July 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on how many people aged 18 to 24 years left the claimant count in each of the last five years in the parliamentary constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North, and the reasons why they left.
The information requested is not available for the exact areas of parliamentary constituencies. The estimates provided refer to claimants who are registered at the two Employment Service jobcentres situated within the Stoke-on-Trent North parliamentary constituency area.
Total numbers leaving the claimant count from 1992 to 1996 are shown in Tables 1 to 3, but information on the destination of leavers from the claimant count is not available for 1992 to 1994.
For 1995 and 1996, numbers of leavers from the claimant count are shown in Tables 2 and 3 according to the claim end reason categories identified in those years. The percentages shown in these tables are expressed in terms of leavers with a known destination.
| Total leavers | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 2,298 |
| 1993 | 2,330 |
| 1994 | 2,172 |
Source:
NOMIS.
Source:
JUVOS Leaving Marker File.
(1) Less than 5 claimants.
(2) Totals are rounded.
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| Reason for leaving | Leavers | As a percentage of those with a known destination |
|---|---|---|
| Ceased claiming | 52 | 4.0 |
| Found work | 1,010 | 77.3 |
| Gone abroad | 27 | 2.1 |
| Claimed another benefit | 28 | 2.1 |
| Full-time education | 26 | 2.0 |
| Claimant deceased | (3)-- | 0.1 |
| Claimed sickness benefit | 95 | 7.3 |
| Transferred to government-supported training | 60 | 4.6 |
| Working on average 16+ hours | (3)-- | 0.2 |
| Claimed Incapacity Support | (3)-- | 0.1 |
| Defective claim | (3)-- | 0.2 |
| Total known destination(4) | 1,310 | 100.0 |
| Not known | 16 | -- |
| Failed to attend | 471 | -- |
| Total leavers | 1,790 |
Source:
JUVOS Leaving Marker File.
(3) Less than 5 claimants.
(4) Totals are rounded.
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