| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
4 May 2004 : Column 1477W—continued
Employment Statistics (Wigan)
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in Wigan in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [169354]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about job vacancies in Wigan. I am replying in his absence. (169354)
According to Jobcentre Plus administrative records the number of unfilled vacancies in the Wigan travel-to-work area was 1,843 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Jobcentre vacancy statistics were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data, which occurred following the introduction of new administrative procedures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.
Results from the ONS Vacancy Survey were released as National Statistics from July 2003, but are not available for local areas.
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the level of unemployment was in each year since 1997 in Wigan; [169358]
(2) what the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth employment in Wigan were in each of the last seven years. [169309]
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. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about unemployment. (169358, 169309)
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 Wigan Parliamentary Constituency.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
The attached table gives the annual average number of people claiming JSA for over 12 months, and the annual average number of these claimants aged 18 to 24 years, in the Wigan constituency, for each year since 1997. The table also shows the annual average total number of JSA claimants in the constituency for these years.
| Claimants for at least twelve months(35) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan parliamentary constituency, 1997–2003 | All claimants | All ages | Aged 18–24 |
| 1997 | 2,516 | 871 | 137 |
| 1998 | 2,029 | 339 | 46 |
| 1999 | 1,825 | 317 | 10 |
| 2000 | 1,629 | 252 | (36)— |
| 2001 | 1,444 | 232 | (36)— |
| 2002 | 1,325 | 191 | 8 |
| 2003 | 1,331 | 189 | 10 |
(35) Computerised claims only.
(36) Value between 1 and 5, not shown to prevent disclosure.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what (a) change and (b) percentage change there has been in full-time permanent jobs in Wigan from 1997 to 31 December 2003; [169359]
(2) how many new jobs have been created in Wigan since 1997. [169360]
4 May 2004 : Column 1479W
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about full-time jobs and jobs created in Wigan. I am replying in his absence. (169359, 169360)
While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year to year.
The following table shows the information requested relating to all jobs and full-time jobs in Wigan for 1997 and 2002, which is the latest year available.
Information is not available about whether the jobs were permanent.
| Full-Time | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | ||
| 1997 | 24,000 | 35,000 |
| 2002 | 24,200 | 36,400 |
| Change from 1997 to 2002 | ||
| Absolute | 200 | 1,400 |
| Percentage | 0.9 | 4.0 |
(37) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).
National Minimum Wage
Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many workers in Preston have benefited from the national minimum wage. [169664]
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. Mark Hendrick, dated 4 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of workers in Preston who have benefited from the national minimum wage (NMW). (169664)
This information is not available at local authority level.
However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates estimates of the number of jobs paid less than NMW rates for the United Kingdom and Government Office Regions. A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles and data can be found on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=272
Budget Implications (Hull)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect that Budget 2004 will have on the Hull, North constituency. [169736]
Ruth Kelly:
The Government has the long-term economic goal of maintaining macro-economic stability. Budget 2004 showed that all parts of the UK are set to benefit from the domestic stability delivered by the Government's macro-economic framework, with
4 May 2004 : Column 1480W
inflation forecast to remain low and close to target and the Government on track to meet its strict fiscal rules over the economic cycle.
Kingston upon Hull North has clearly already benefited significantly from Government policies to build a strong economy and a fair society. For example, since 1997 claimant count unemployment has fallen by over a third, long-term unemployment has fallen by over three quarters and long-term youth unemployment has fallen by almost 70 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 freely available via the National Statistics website at www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk
Capital Gains Tax
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the disposal of entitlement under the introduction of single farm payments will be subject to capital gains tax. [169329]
Ruth Kelly: Implementation and administration of the single farm payment scheme is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in England, and the devolved administrations. Under general taxation principles, the tax treatment of any single farm payment to which an individual is entitled will depend upon the precise nature of the payment. However, from the information currently available, the Inland Revenue considers that the disposal of an entitlement to receive a single farm payment will normally be the disposal of a chargeable asset for capital gains tax purposes, and that the extinguishing of an entitlement to receive agricultural subsidies will also be a disposal for capital gains tax purposes.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |