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Labour Market Statistics

Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what revisions to the Labour Market Statistics are scheduled for April; and what the impact of such revisions will be on (a) national and local

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statistics and (b) relevant Department for Education and Employment policies. [155761]

Mr. Blunkett: ONS announced on 19 July 2000 that they would be introducing a new annual survey of employee jobs--the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI)--to

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replace the Annual Employment Survey. The new statistics will be published in the Labour Market First Release on 11 April. These data are used in national regional and local estimates of employee jobs and the national and regional Workforce Jobs series. In addition the estimates are used in the calculation of claimant count rates nationally, regionally and locally and in national and regional productivity estimates.

Work carried out by ONS established that the ABI was the better estimate of employee jobs in the economy and that the errors in the previous estimate had occurred back over time. ONS have indicated the following on the likely effects.

Early indications, from mid-2000, were that the revisions will show 500,000 to 750,000 more jobs for 1998 than previously estimated. If these indications of the scale are applied to the claimant unemployment rate, then the 1998 UK rate would be revised down by 0.2 percentage points.

The UK claimant count level is unaffected.

Productivity levels will be revised down, but growth rates will only be slightly affected by the introduction of the ABI. An improved methodology is being introduced from 1997 onwards.

Revisions will take place over the history of the series.

Locally, employee job estimates and claimant unemployment rates for regions, local authorities and parliamentary constituencies will also be revised. DfEE like all users have no indication of the scale of these revisions for each local area. The claimant count rates will be revised downwards nationally. Past experience suggests that although the local rates will in general be revised down some local claimant rates may be revised up.

As the revisions will be over the history of the series, changes over time in these series will be relatively unaffected.

There will also be annual seasonal adjustment reviews to the Labour Force Survey, claimant count and vacancies series. These do not usually lead to significant revisions.

The information available from ONS only gives some indication of the likely scale of the revisions. DfEE will fully assess any impact on our policies once we have the exact information available to us. However, the indication that changes over time will be relatively unaffected suggests that the impact on our policies will not be major.

Full details on the new statistics will be available on 11 April from the House of Commons Library.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Kenya

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provides for each project it supports in Kenya. [156703]

Clare Short: The table lists, by sector, all current approved projects in Kenya and their funding allocations totalling £164.46 million. Disbursement of funds takes place over a number of years reflecting the varying project lifespans.

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Sector/Project	Allocation (£)
Agriculture and Livestock
Kenya Trypanosomiasis Research Institute (KETR) Project Phase III	2,381,600
ABLH Smallholder Mkt. and Cert. Project	2,819,000
SmallHolder Dairy Project	2,007,000
Farm Africa Goat Project	1,133,000
EPAG: Com. Animal Health	462,220
Farming Systems Kenya	303,000
Agriculture Sector Reform	48,000
Rural Livelihoods Policy Influencing	120,000
ITDG Decent'd Animal Health	350,861
Land Tenure Project	300,000
Sabatia Food Security/Resource Project	317,289
Agric Tech Dissemm Project	50,000
RNR Regional Co-ordinator	45,000
Subtotal	10,336,970
Forestry
Forestry Consultation	75,000
Subtotal	75,000
Rural Development
Aga Khan Foundation--Kwale	1,100,000
Wajir Pastoralist Dev II	1,002,044
ActionAid Capacity Bld Ph 2	2,000,000
Subtotal	4,102,044
Public Administration
Strengthening Gov. Fin & Acct'g	1,100,000
Support to Attorney General	438,600
Beijing Platform for Action II	513,000
Population Census 1999	1,235,000
Gender Strategy	30,000
Poverty Eradication Plan	25,000
Support to Civil Service Reform	220,230
Support to Kenya Anti Corruption Auth	225,000
Poverty Information in Kenya	50,000
Political Empowerment Project	2,200,000
PRSP Consultation	750,000
Legal Sector Reform	50,000
Subtotal	38,336,830
Water and Sanitation
CARE NDHEWAS Project	908,785
Water Aid Development of ASAL Water	608,791
ASAL water II	950,000
CARE Garissa	405,693
SASOL	353,059
Subtotal	3,226,328
Business and Finance
Barclays Loan Guarantee	969,092
Enterprise Initiative Prj II	600,000
CARE Women's Econ Develop.	2,758,188
Support to KWFT	1,741,623
MFI Analysis and Support	50,000
K-Rep Phase II	953,904
Deregulation Phase II	1,377,779
Mwezi Kali 2 BGTP	925,669
ApproTec Ram Oil Press	83,000
Co-op Bank Micro Finance	1,125,000
Support to Faulu Phase II	2,520,000
Support to KICK Phase II	399,872
Financial Services to the Poor	70,000
KICK/Green Disabled Group	65,339
Small Enterprise Awards Scheme	634,000
ApproTec Long Term Irrigation	1,700,000
Business Partnership Project	1,150,000
Enabling Environment for Business	100,000
Subtotal	17,223.466
Urban Development
Nairobi Urban Poverty Project	2,913,800
Mombasa Urban Project	2,844,000
Kibera Urban Env. Sanitation Project	60,000
Subtotal	5,817,800
Education
Strengthening Primary Education	13,360,000
Primary School Management	4,760,000
Mumias Educ. For Empowerment	400,000
AA Community Education Initiative	400,000
Subtotal	18,920,000
Health and Welfare
Interim Vaccine Procurement	1,793,750
Kenya Family Health Project	11,470,000
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care	26,000,000
Safe Motherhood Partnership Fund	1,720,000
Health Planning and Reform Support	484,000
AMREF Employer Based Malaria	849,755
East African Malaria Monitoring and Research	263,709
Eradication of Polio in East Africa	7,907,688
Malaria Control in Kenya	1,163,820
AMREF Turkana CBHC Phase II	500,000
Subtotal	52,152,722
Conflict
Pastoral Conflict in Kenya	25,000
Arid District Conflict Reduction Proj.	595,000
Subtotal	620,000
Emergencies/Drought
MSF Spain Emergency Project	530,000
EPAG Mandera	184,000
OXFAM Borehole Protection	1,110,944
OXFAM Turkana Food Distribution	313,248
WFP Emergency Operation 6203	10,030,000
Livestock Off-take	150,000
Support to Office of the President	180,000
UNICEF Emergency Nutrition	158,043
FAO Emergency Seed Distribution	20,000
UNICEF Health and Nutrition	600,000
FAO CBPP Campaign	144,650
Subtotal	13,420,885
Roads
Study of Roads Agency	230,000
Subtotal	230,000

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Romania and Albania

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the assistance programmes her Department is funding in (a) Romania and (b) Albania. [156704]

Clare Short: Our main financial contribution to development programmes is through the EC and other multilateral agencies. Our share of EC programme commitments to Romania and Albania in 2000 was £79 million.

Activities under our bilateral programmes are as follows:

In Romania we are funding programmes for accountancy and audit reform; the Court of Audit; civil service reform; health care and child care reform; the development of a probation service; development of insurance services; energy sector regulation; social

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protection; education finance; mining communities; rural development; citizens advice and information services; environmental project design; environmental partnerships at municipal level; and water and wastewater services.

In Albania we are supporting the Government's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy and Medium Term Expenditure Framework; health financing and planning; taxation reform; media development; public administration reform; social policy and social service reform; rural livelihoods; environment; and emergency planning and disposal or ordnance.

We published a country strategy paper for Romania in October 1999, and for Albania in January 2001. Copies are in the Library of the House.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance her Department has provided to UNICEF for its work in the protection of young refugees from (a) Romania and (b) Albania. [156705]

Clare Short: We have provided a total of £7.75 million to UNICEF for programmes in the Balkans. Of this sum, £1 million was allocated to Albania and £3.5 million for regional programmes. There was no specific allocation for Romania.

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