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Ecofin

Ms Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the recent council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union. [8408]

Mr. Gordon Brown: I represented the UK at the Economic and Finance Council--ECOFIN--of the European Union in Brussels on 7 July.

Most of the formal session was taken up by an open debate on Luxembourg's plans for work in ECOFIN during their Presidency of the EU. Key areas in the next six months include preparation for the Special Employment Summit, taking forward preparations for stage three of EMU and work on all financial aspects of enlargement of the Union and the Agenda 2000 dossier.

The series of "structured dialogues" with Ministers of the Central and Eastern European countries continued with a discussion of capital liberalisation and reform of the financial sector, both in formal session and over lunch. Ministers from the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Poland outlined the progress their countries had made in these sectors. It was noted that, while progress had clearly been made, weaknesses remained and needed to be addressed. Hungary will host a seminar later this year to discuss further work.

The Council carried out an examination of Italy's convergence programme for the period 1998 to 2000. It acknowledged the progress made by Italy on inflation, interest rates and currency stability. It welcomed the commitment to reducing the fiscal deficit, while stressing the need to implement structural reforms so a low deficit could be sustained in the longer term. The Council also noted the need to reduce the high level of accumulated government debt.

The Council discussed informally a draft regulation on the technical specification for euro coins. No member state indicated disagreement with the substance of the regulation. I noted that the text had not yet cleared Parliamentary scrutiny.

The Council discussed informally the EC Budget for 1998. Formal discussions will take place at the Budget Council meeting on 24 July.

In further informal discussions, the Council agreed that ECOFIN should examine all issues related to Agenda 2000 and that the Presidency would propose that the meeting between Asian and EU Finance Ministers in September should include consideration of money laundering.

The Presidency informed the Council that a meeting between EU and EFTA Finance Ministers would take place over dinner on the eve of the 13 October ECOFIN.

Unemployment

Mrs. Gorman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual change in unemployment for the under 25s for the past four years. [8213]

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.

15 Jul 1997 : Column: 110

Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Teresa Gorman, dated 15 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 much youth unemployment levels have changed in each of the last four years.

The data you have requested for those under 25 years are shown in the attached table.

Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted, thousands figures are shown for winter of each year (December to February)

	Level	Change on year
1992-93	867
1993-94	785	-82
1994-95	695	-90
1995-96	656	-39
1996-97	633	-23




Source:

Labour Force Survey.

General Government Consumption

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those years since 1974 when general Government consumption has fallen by 1 per cent. or more. [7890]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 11 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 be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Willetts, dated 15 July 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on general government consumption.
General government consumption, at constant prices has fallen by more than one per cent only in one year since 1974. This occurred in 1977.

Earnings

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of employees earning (a) less than £3.50 an hour, (b) less than £4 an hour and (c) less than £4.50 an hour; [8287]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of self-employed people earning (a) less than £3.50 an hour, (b) less than £4 an hour and (c) less than £4.50 an hour; [8288]

(3) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the agricultural, fishing and food industries earning (a) less than £3.50 an hour, (b) less than £4 an hour and (c) less than £4.50 an hour; [8283]

(4) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed by local authorities earning (a) less than £3.50 an hour, (b) less than £4 an hour and (c) less than £4.50 an hour; [8278]

(5) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the transport industries earning (a) less than £3.50 an hour, (b) less than £4 an hour and (c) less than £4.50 an hour; [8279]

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(6) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed by charitable organisations earning less than (a) £3.50 an hour, (b) £4 an hour and (c) £4.50 an hour; [8280]

(7) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the retail sector earning less than (a) £3.50 an hour, (b) £4 an hour and (c) £4.50 an hour; [8282]

(8) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in (a) manufacturing and (b) services, earning (i) less than £3.50 an hour, (ii) less than £4 an hour and (iii) less than £4.50 an hour. [8281]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 11 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 be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Michael Fallon, dated 15 July 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions (8288, 8279, 8280, 8281, 8282, 8283, 8287 and 8288) regarding earnings.
The latest information, from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), is given in the attached table. Data for the self-employed are not available.

Employees of all rates including those whose pay for the survey pay-period was affected by absence, LFS (winter/December 1996-February 1997), Great Britain

	£3.50	£4.00	£4.50
All
Whole economy (SIC 92 Sectors A-Q)	3,174	4,786	6,557
Agriculture (SIC 92 sectors A-B)	51	76	101
Manufacturing (SIC 92 sector D)	400	680	972
Retail (SIC 92 division 52)	703	1,094	1,427
Services (SIC 92 sectors G-Q)	2,612	3,880	5,269
Transport (SIC 92 divisions 60-63)	116	155	200
Charity, voluntary organisation or trust	60	91	130
Local Government(4)	192	371	585
Full-time
Whole economy (SIC 92 sectors A-Q)	1,454	2,319	3,383
Agriculture (SIC 92 A-B)	45	60	84
Manufacturing (SIC 92 sector D)	292	524	779
Retail (SIC 92 division 52)	191	326	454
Services (SIC 92 sectors G-Q)	1,026	1,618	2,350
Transport (SIC 92 divisions 60-63)	86	119	155
Charity, Voluntary organisation or trust	19	31	44
Local Government(4)	47	80	163
Part-time
Whole economy (SIC 92 Sectors A-Q)	1,720	2,467	3,174
Agriculture (SIC 92 A-B)	(5)--	16	18
Manufacturing (SIC 92 sector D)	108	155	192
Retail (SIC 92 division 52)	512	768	973
Services (SIC 92 sectors G-Q)	1,585	2,262	2,918
Transport (SIC 92 divisions 60-63)	29	35	45
Charity, voluntary organisation or trust	41	61	86
Local Government(4)	145	291	422




(4) Including police, fire services and locally controlled schools and colleges.

(5) Sample size too small to give a reliable estimate.

SIC 92--denotes Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities 1992.

Social Chapter

Mr. Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the financial impact on the United Kingdom of expenditure under the social chapter. [8921]

15 Jul 1997 : Column: 112

Mr. Gordon Brown: Article 2 of the Social Protocol says that financial consequences, other than administrative costs, of the Social Chapter shall not be applicable to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This exemption could be achieved by means of a rebate on the UK's contribution to the EU budget. The Government has decided, however, that pursuing such a rebate in future would be inconsistent with the agreement reached at the Amsterdam Council enabling the UK to participate in Council discussions under the Social Chapter. It has also decided not to seek reimbursement of its contribution to past budget years. The total claim which will be written off as a result of this decision--initially estimated at £1 million for budget years 1995 and 1996--will be reported in a note to the Consolidated Fund account.

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