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Retail Prices Index
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the (a) percentage increase and (b) average annual increase in the retail prices index between (i) March 1974 and April 1979 and (ii) May 1979 and April 1997. [10892]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 28 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. Christopher Fraser, dated 29 July 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question about the increase in the Retail Prices Index.
Between March 1974 and April 1979 the percentage increase in the Retail Prices Index was 108.8 per cent for the period. This compares with 185.6 per cent for the period May 1979 to April 1997.
The average annual increase in the Retail Prices Index for the period March 1974 to April 1979 was 15.3 per cent per annum. This compares with 6.0 per cent for the period May 1979 to April 1997.
Illegal Drugs
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of (a) casualties and (b) fatalities caused by the interaction between prescribed and illegal drugs in each of the last three years. [11016]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 28 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.
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Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 29 July 1997:
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the expected life span of a child born in (a) 1979 and (b) 1997. [10906]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 28 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.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to your recent parliamentary question on drug casualties and fatalities. However, this information is not held centrally.
The ONS collects and compiles information on the cause of all deaths registered in England and Wales. In the case of deaths due to any form of poisoning by drugs or drug abuse, the death will be certified by a coroner following an inquest. The coroner's certificate of cause of death, used to register these deaths, includes a short section on the cause (in the format of the medical certificate of cause of death recommended by the WHO), the verdict and certain details about the circumstances of accidental deaths. The level of information therefore normally received by the ONS would include the names of all the drugs known to have been taken or found in toxicological analyses. When more than one drug is mentioned on the certificate, it is not usually stated which was responsible for the death, nor whether any interaction between them was suspected or proven.
Whether a drug was prescribed for the deceased or another person, bought over the counter or obtained illicitly is not normally recorded on the death certificate. The coroner's verdict may state that the death was due to dependence on or abuse of a drug or drugs. However. many certificates of deaths due to poisoning with controlled drugs do not mention abuse or dependence, and may have accidental, suicidal or open verdicts. Many controlled drugs can be legitimately prescribed for therapeutic purposes. A very small number of deaths are certified as due to adverse reactions to therapeutic drugs in normal use, with either an accidental or therapeutic misadventure verdict. In addition to controlled and prescription only drugs, those taken therapeutically may include over the counter preparations.
A greater level of detail may be recorded in the coroner's inquest reports, but these are not routinely collected, coded or analysed nationally.
The ONS does not collect figures on admissions to hospital, patients seen in accident and emergency departments or cases notified to poisons advice centres.
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 70.0 | 76.2 |
| 1995(4) | 74.0 | 79.3 |
(4) Latest year for which data are available. Figures supplied by the Government Actuary's Department.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 137
Unemployment
Mr. Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the change in unemployment levels in each former parliamentary constituency in Great Britain between (a) December 1992 and (b) December 1997. [11244]
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 Mr. Peter Luff, dated 29 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 the change in unemployment levels in each former parliamentary constituency in Great Britain.
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 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 unemployed-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 information you have requested is only available from the claimant count, as the Labour Force Survey does not give details down to constituency levels as explained.
Information on the levels of claimant count by former Parliamentary Constituency are based on the 1981 Census which are only available up to March 1996. Parliamentary Constituency data from April 1996 were based on the new 1991 Census. All this information can be obtained from the NOMIS database at the House of Commons Library.
Temporary Contracts
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of people currently employed on temporary contracts in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Spain and (d) Italy; and to what extent this has changed since (i) 1987 and (ii) 1992. [10891]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 28 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. Christopher Fraser, dated 29 July 1997:
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 138
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on the proportion of people currently employed on temporary contracts in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.
Numbers of temporary employees and all employees are published in the Eurostat publication Labour Force Survey Results which is available in the House of Commons Library. The most recent edition is for 1995. The proportions for spring of each of the years 1987, 1992 and 1995 are shown in the table below. The latest figure for the United Kingdom, for winter 1996/7, is also shown.
| United Kingdom | France | Spain | Italy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 1987 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 15.6 | 5.4 |
| Spring 1992 | 5.4 | 10.4 | 33.5 | 7.6 |
| Spring 1995 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 35.0 | 7.2 |
| Winter 1996-97 | 7.4 | -- | -- | -- |
Manufacturing Output
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the changes in levels of (a) manufacturing productivity and (b) overall productivity between (i) March 1974 and April 1979 and (ii) May 1979 and April 1997. [10888]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 28 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.
| Sector | Period | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Q1 1974 to Q1 1979 | 5.7 |
| Q2 1979 to Q1 1997 | 83.5 | |
| Whole economy | Q1 1974 to Q1 1979 | 9.4 |
| Q2 1979 to Q1 1997 | 36.7 |
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was manufacturing output in the United Kingdom in each year between 1979 and 1997 in terms of (a) volume and (b) value at current prices. [10959]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 28 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.
| Year | Volume of manufacturing output at constant prices |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 90.6 |
| 1980 | 82.8 |
| 1981 | 77.7 |
| 1982 | 77.6 |
| 1983 | 79.2 |
| 1984 | 82.2 |
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 139
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