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19 Apr 2004 : Column 375W—continued
Departmental Policy
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend constituency, the effects on Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend of his Department's policies and actions since 1997. [166876]
Ruth Kelly:
The Government has put in place a radical programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since 1997 to improve the economic performance of all parts of the UK. There is
19 Apr 2004 : Column 376W
significant evidence that these policies have already yielded considerable benefits for the Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend constituency.
For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has almost halved, long-term unemployment has fallen by almost three quarters and long-term youth unemployment has fallen by almost 90 per cent.
The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the (a) change and (b) percentage change was in full-time permanent jobs in Birkenhead from 1997 to 31 December 2003; [166305]
(2) how many new jobs have been created in Birkenhead since 1997. [166306]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Frank Field, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about full time jobs, and jobs created in Birkenhead. (166305, 166306)
While statistics on the number of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes in the total number of jobs, from year to year.
The following table shows the information requested, relating to all jobs and full-time jobs, for 1997 and 2002, the latest year for which figures are available. No information is available about whether the jobs were permanent.
| Full-Time | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | ||
| 1997 | 22,000 | 33,900 |
| 2002 | 22,400 | 35,100 |
| Change from 1997 to 2002 | ||
| Absolute | 400 | 1,200 |
| Percentage | 2.0 | 3.7 |
1 Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI)
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in tourism-related jobs in Birkenhead on the latest date for which figures are available. [166307]
Ruth Kelly:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
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Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Frank Field, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about tourism-related jobs in Birkenhead. (166307)
The latest available data, from the 2002 Annual Business Inquiry, shows that the total number of jobs in tourism related industries in Birkenhead was 2,100. This total is obtained by combining figures for those working in the following industries, as identified by the Standard Industrial Classification 2003:
hotels
restaurants
bars
activities of travel agencies
library, archives museums etc
sporting activities
other recreational activities.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in Birkenhead in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [166308]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Frank Field, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning job vacancies in Birkenhead. (166308)
According to Jobcentre Plus administrative records, the number of unfilled vacancies in Birkenhead was 898 on average during 1997. This represents only a proportion of all the vacancies available, as not all vacancies are notified to Jobcentres.
Jobcentre vacancy statistics were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data which occurred following the introduction of new administrative procedures by Jobcentre Plus. Comparable figures for vacancies in 2003 are therefore unavailable.
The ONS Vacancy Survey was introduced from April 2001, but does not provide information below national level.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [166638]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Ben Chapman, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning job vacancies. (166638)
There were 600,800 job vacancies in the UK on average during 2003 according to results of the ONS Vacancy Survey. As the survey started in April 2001, there are no comparable statistics for 1997. Since the series shows seasonal fluctuations, the longest available like-for-like comparison with the past, using the latest provisional estimate of 632,400 vacancies for February 2004, is with the estimate of 622,000 for February 2002, an increase of 10,400 vacancies over the two- year period.
Previous vacancy statistics from Jobcentre Plus administrative records were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data following the introduction of new administrative procedures by Jobcentre Plus.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment in Birkenhead was in each year since 1997. [166312]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Frank Field dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Birkenhead Parliamentary Constituency.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
The table below gives the annual average number of JSA claimants for the Birkenhead constituency for each year since 1997.
| Year | Average number of claimants |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 4,730 |
| 1998 | 4,025 |
| 1999 | 3,829 |
| 2000 | 3,418 |
| 2001 | 3,026 |
| 2002 | 2,744 |
| 2003 | 2,540 |
Family Statistics
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) families with dependent children are headed by (i) married couples, (ii) cohabiting couples and (iii) a lone (A) female and (B) male parent and (b) dependent children live in families which are headed by (1) a married couple, (2) a cohabiting couple, (3) a parent who has never married, (4) a widowed parent, (5) a divorced parent and (6) a separated parent. [165864]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Edward Leigh, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what percentage of (a) families with dependent children are headed by (i) married couples, (ii) cohabiting couples and (iii) a lone (A) female and (B) male parent and (b) dependent children live in families which are headed by (1) a married couple, (2) a cohabiting couple, (3) a parent who has never married, (4) a widowed parent, (5) a divorced parent and (6) a separated parent. (165864) Figures from the 2001 Census indicate that there were 6,376,140 couple or lone parent families in England and Wales. The percentage of those families which were headed by (i) a married couple, (ii) a cohabiting couple, (iii) a male lone parent or (iv) a female lone parent are shown in the table below. All information has been taken from table S006 in the Census 2001 National report for England and Wales., which is available in the House of Commons Library.
| Family type | Percentage of families |
|---|---|
| Married or re-married couple | 63.03 |
| Cohabiting couple | 11.64 |
| Lone male parent | 2.55 |
| Lone female parent | 22.78 |
Source :
Table S006 Census 2001 National report for England and Wales.
Figures from the 2001 Census indicate that there were 11,539,432 dependent children living in families in England and Wales. The percentage of those families which were headed by (i) a married couple, (ii) a cohabiting couple, (iii) a lone parent are shown in the table below. All information has been taken from table T01 in the Census 2001 National report for England and Wales, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
| Family type | Percentage of Children |
|---|---|
| Married or re-married couple | 65.77 |
| Cohabiting couple | 11.08 |
| Lone parent | 23.15 |
Source :
Table T01 Census 2001 National report for England and Wales.
Analysis of the Census figures has been undertaken in the latest edition of Population Trends 115 (pages 65–69). The published volume is available in the House of Commons Library and also on the National Statistics website at:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/themejpopulation/PT115.pdfInformation on how many dependent children live with (1) a parent who has never married, (2) a widowed parent, (3) a divorced parent or (4) a separated parent is not currently available from the 2001 Census for England and Wales. However, an analysis, based on results from the General Household Survey for Great Britain in 2000, estimated that, of all dependent children living in families: 9.1 per cent. were living with a never-married lone mother; 0.7 per cent. with a widowed lone mother; 7.1 per cent. with a divorced lone mother; and 5.1 per cent. with a separated lone mother. Corresponding estimates were not made for the proportions of all dependent children living in families who were living in lone father families, because of small sample numbers. Overall, 2.6 per cent. of all dependent children living in families were living in lone father families. These estimates are not comparable with those from the 2001 Census, since they relate to a different time, and cover the whole of Great Britain rather than England and Wales.The full results, published in an article in Population Trends 109, are available in the House of Commons Library and may also be seen on the National Statistics website at:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme population/PT109.pdf
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