House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 12 Jul 2004 (pt 14)

12 Jul 2004 : Column 914W—continued

Income Tax (Pensioners)

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners in Warrington, North have qualified for the 10 per cent. rate of income tax in each year since its introduction. [182770]

Dawn Primarolo: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) estimates that there are around 7,000 and 8,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Warrington, North constituency in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively. Figures for 1999–00 are currently not available.

Inland Revenue Staffing

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the staff-customer ratio is for those contacting or receiving services from the Inland Revenue, broken down by (a) all staff, (b) staff dealing with customers face-to-face, (c) call centre staff and (d) staff processing claims without customer contact. [182532]

Dawn Primarolo: The following figures are expressed in terms of full-time equivalents (FTEs). The hours worked by part-time staff are aggregated and expressed as an equivalent number of full-time staff. The number of people employed is higher. In 2003–04:

(a) Inland Revenue staff totalled 73 000 FTEs. The Inland Revenue does not have figures for the total number of customers it deals with, because some people may be included in several categories. For example one individual may simultaneously pay tax through the PAYE system, make tax returns under the self assessment system, make national insurance contributions, and be entitled to tax credit payments.

Key Worker Living Scheme

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2004, Official Report, column 602W, on teachers (loans), whether a tax charge arises for teachers receiving loans under the Key Worker Living Scheme. [183910]

Dawn Primarolo: No taxable benefit will arise on key workers receiving loans under the Key Worker Scheme as there is no employer involvement in the making or facilitating of these loans.

12 Jul 2004 : Column 915W

Labour Statistics

Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in each year since 1997 in (a) Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) Scotland, broken down by (i) age and (ii) gender. [182743]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 12 July 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Michael Moore, dated 12 July 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the level of unemployment in each year since 1997 in (a) Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) Scotland, broken down by (i) age and (ii) gender. I am replying in his absence. (182743)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.

The attached Table 1 gives the estimates of the number of people unemployed by gender and age in Scotland covering the twelve months ending February in 1997 and each year from 2000 to 2003. Figures for 1998 and 1999 are not yet available on a consistent basis. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Parliamentary Constituency and the Scottish Borders Unitary Authority. As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.

ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary Constituencies. The attached Table 2 gives the annual average number of JSA claimants by gender and age for the Tweeddale,

12 Jul 2004 : Column 916W

Table 1: Number of unemployed people in Scotland, 12 months ending February in 1997 and each year from 2000 to 2003 1 Thousand

1997 2000 2001 2002 2003

All persons

All aged 16 and over 211 178 159 166 164

All of working age⁽⁹⁾ 209 174 156 166 161

16 to 17 15 17 16 20 22

18 to 24 51 43 40 44 39

25 to 34 60 42 35 36 31

35 to 49 55 46 41 42 43

50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾ 28 26 24 24 26

Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾—

Men

All aged 16 and over 142 106 98 105 99

All of working age⁽⁹⁾ 141 105 96 105 98

16 to 17 10 11 9 14 12

18 to 24 33 25 23 28 25

25 to 34 40 26 21 19 17

35 to 49 35 24 25 25 25

50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾ 23 21 19 19 19

Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾—

Women

All aged 16 and over 69 72 61 61 65

All of working age⁽⁹⁾ 68 69 60 61 64

16 to 17 ⁽¹⁰⁾— 7 7 6 9

18 to 24 18 19 17 16 14

25 to 34 20 17 14 17 15

35 to 49 19 22 16 18 18

50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾ 6 ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— 7

Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾— ⁽¹⁰⁾—

⁽⁸⁾ Not seasonally adjusted.
⁽⁹⁾ Working age is between 16 and 64 for men, and between 16 and 59 for women. Pensionable age is 65 for men and 60 for women.
⁽¹⁰⁾ Sample size too small for reliable estimate.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey Local Area Datasets.

Table 2: Annual average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance (JSA), by age and gender, areas as shown, 1997 to 2004

Male claimants

Age group 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18 11 13 11 14 11 18 15

18 years old 29 28 40 27 23 29 28

19 years old 27 40 27 35 21 22 19

20 to 24 122 125 123 95 96 102 89

25 to 29 117 106 102 84 73 69 67

30 to 34 101 88 98 81 69 67 56

35 to 39 71 74 86 74 77 67 64

40 to 44 70 60 70 56 47 51 43

45 to 49 70 59 61 62 56 48 39

50 to 54 68 67 67 61 45 45 42

55 and over 53 55 63 51 51 53 55

Total 739 715 748 640 569 571 517

Scottish Borders unitary authority

Under 18 24 25 29 29 27 32 24

18 years old 52 67 62 53 57 51 44

19 years old 48 67 56 54 44 46 31

20 to 24 236 234 225 176 173 174 148

25 to 29 197 195 192 158 139 123 101

30 to 34 181 187 200 156 132 120 96

35 to 39 132 137 156 139 133 115 94

40 to 44 114 125 139 98 95 96 86

45 to 49 114 114 133 122 96 85 70

50 to 54 106 118 130 119 106 89 73

55 and over 98 124 130 119 107 111 104

Total 1,302 1,393 1,452 1,223 1,109 1,042 871

Scotland

Under 18 1,953 1,936 1,976 1,841 1,607 1,496 1,536

18 years old 4,323 4,120 4,116 3,612 3,412 3,155 3,257

19 years old 4,237 4,130 3,627 3,291 3,074 2,956 2,817

20 to 24 21,448 18,085 15,258 13,307 12,955 12,781 12,728

25 to 29 20,239 17,327 15,940 13,669 12,201 11,269 10,667

30 to 34 16,786 14,605 14,301 12,743 11,475 10,801 10,183

35 to 39 13,257 11,895 11,835 10,834 9,875 9,421 9,062

40 to 44 10,791 9,679 9,684 9,008 8,160 7,932 7,616

45 to 49 10,017 8,736 8,629 7,839 6,830 6,614 6,414

50 to 54 9,759 8,848 8,663 7,940 6,895 6,676 6,489

55 and over 9,887 8,633 8,331 7,514 6,588 6,928 7,106

Total 122,697 107,994 102,360 91,598 83,072 80,029 77,875

12 Jul 2004 : Column 917W

Female claimants

Age group 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18 8 10 12 5 6 12 10

18 years old 15 18 18 16 13 13 14

19 years old 15 13 16 10 9 9 10

20 to 24 46 41 43 31 31 33 29

25 to 29 32 32 27 22 20 13 13

30 to 34 19 18 23 19 13 18 13

35 to 39 14 18 17 16 14 15 16

40 to 44 22 21 21 14 11 15 15

45 to 49 29 26 23 19 16 14 15

50 to 54 20 22 21 20 18 22 20

55 and over 22 16 19 19 17 12 11

Total 242 235 240 191 168 176 166

Scottish Borders unitary authority

Under 18 20 24 23 14 15 18 18

18 years old 26 31 35 35 26 32 25

19 years old 23 24 27 23 26 26 22

20 to 24 89 84 85 57 58 71 60

25 to 29 54 57 54 44 35 28 26

30 to 34 35 34 33 36 29 28 25

35 to 39 32 36 34 34 27 24 26

40 to 44 40 52 44 33 28 30 27

45 to 49 51 57 49 41 32 29 32

50 to 54 37 53 47 44 44 41 34

55 and over 36 44 43 43 33 33 35

Total 443 496 474 404 353 360 330

Scotland

Under 18 1,387 1,351 1,417 1,289 1,192 1,192 1,247

18 years old 2,227 2,165 2,161 1,983 1,897 1,836 1,939

19 years old 1,939 1,832 1,705 1,551 1,448 1,458 1,415

20 to 24 6,826 5,807 4,984 4,347 4,169 4,207 4,248

25 to 29 4,680 3,969 3,588 3,044 2,653 2,413 2,330

30 to 34 3,301 3,010 2,786 2,475 2,155 2,102 2,040

35 to 39 2,794 2,659 2,573 2,377 2,101 2,037 2,084

40 to 44 2,998 2,970 2,896 2,574 2,240 2,172 2,273

45 to 49 3,267 3,071 2,850 2,599 2,257 2,115 2,105

50 to 54 3,337 3,183 2,946 2,631 2,286 2,117 2,083

55 and over 2,944 2,706 2,525 2,243 1,858 1,914 1,925

Total 35,700 32,723 30,431 27,113 24,256 23,563 23,689

All claimants

Age group 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18 19 22 22 20 16 30 25

18 years old 44 46 58 43 36 42 41

19 years old 41 53 43 46 31 32 29

20 to 24 167 166 166 127 127 135 119

25 to 29 149 138 129 106 93 82 80

30 to 34 120 106 121 100 81 84 69

35 to 39 85 92 103 90 91 82 80

40 to 44 92 81 91 70 58 66 58

45 to 49 100 85 83 80 72 62 53

50 to 54 89 88 88 81 63 66 62

55 and over 74 71 81 70 67 65 66

Total 980 948 985 833 735 746 682

Scottish Borders unitary authority

Under 18 43 48 53 43 42 50 42

18 years old 78 98 97 87 83 83 69

19 years old 71 91 82 77 71 71 53

20 to 24 325 317 311 233 231 245 208

25 to 29 251 253 246 202 174 151 127

30 to 34 216 220 233 192 161 147 120

35 to 39 164 173 190 173 160 139 120

40 to 44 154 178 183 131 123 126 113

45 to 49 164 170 181 163 128 114 102

50 to 54 143 171 177 164 150 130 107

55 and over 134 168 174 162 140 143 139

Total 1,743 1,887 1,927 1,627 1,463 1,399 1,200

Scotland

Under 18 3,341 3,286 3,392 3,129 2,799 2,688 2,783

18 years old 6,550 6,285 6,277 5,595 5,309 4,992 5,196

19 years old 6,176 5,962 5,332 4,842 4,522 4,414 4,233

20 to 24 28,274 23,892 20,242 17,654 17,124 16,988 16,976

25 to 29 24,919 21,296 19,528 16,714 14,854 13,682 12,997

30 to 34 20,087 17,614 17,088 15,218 13,630 12,903 12,224

35 to 39 16,051 14,554 14,408 13,210 11,976 11,458 11,145

40 to 44 13,789 12,649 12,581 11,583 10,400 10,104 9,889

45 to 49 13,284 11,807 11,479 10,438 9,087 8,730 8,519

50 to 54 13,096 12,031 11,609 10,571 9,181 8,793 8,572

55 and over 12,831 11,338 10,855 9,756 8,445 8,842 9,031

Total 158,398 140,714 132,791 118,710 107,327 103,594 101,565

Source:
Jobcentre Plus Administrative system.

12 Jul 2004 : Column 919W

	1997	2000	2001	2002	2003
All persons
All aged 16 and over	211	178	159	166	164
All of working age⁽⁹⁾	209	174	156	166	161
16 to 17	15	17	16	20	22
18 to 24	51	43	40	44	39
25 to 34	60	42	35	36	31
35 to 49	55	46	41	42	43
50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾	28	26	24	24	26
Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—

Men
All aged 16 and over	142	106	98	105	99
All of working age⁽⁹⁾	141	105	96	105	98
16 to 17	10	11	9	14	12
18 to 24	33	25	23	28	25
25 to 34	40	26	21	19	17
35 to 49	35	24	25	25	25
50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾	23	21	19	19	19
Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—

Women
All aged 16 and over	69	72	61	61	65
All of working age⁽⁹⁾	68	69	60	61	64
16 to 17	⁽¹⁰⁾—	7	7	6	9
18 to 24	18	19	17	16	14
25 to 34	20	17	14	17	15
35 to 49	19	22	16	18	18
50 to working age limit⁽⁹⁾	6	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	7
Over pensionable age⁽⁹⁾	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—	⁽¹⁰⁾—

	Male claimants
Age group	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18	11	13	11	14	11	18	15
18 years old	29	28	40	27	23	29	28
19 years old	27	40	27	35	21	22	19
20 to 24	122	125	123	95	96	102	89
25 to 29	117	106	102	84	73	69	67
30 to 34	101	88	98	81	69	67	56
35 to 39	71	74	86	74	77	67	64
40 to 44	70	60	70	56	47	51	43
45 to 49	70	59	61	62	56	48	39
50 to 54	68	67	67	61	45	45	42
55 and over	53	55	63	51	51	53	55
Total	739	715	748	640	569	571	517

Scottish Borders unitary authority
Under 18	24	25	29	29	27	32	24
18 years old	52	67	62	53	57	51	44
19 years old	48	67	56	54	44	46	31
20 to 24	236	234	225	176	173	174	148
25 to 29	197	195	192	158	139	123	101
30 to 34	181	187	200	156	132	120	96
35 to 39	132	137	156	139	133	115	94
40 to 44	114	125	139	98	95	96	86
45 to 49	114	114	133	122	96	85	70
50 to 54	106	118	130	119	106	89	73
55 and over	98	124	130	119	107	111	104
Total	1,302	1,393	1,452	1,223	1,109	1,042	871
Scotland
Under 18	1,953	1,936	1,976	1,841	1,607	1,496	1,536
18 years old	4,323	4,120	4,116	3,612	3,412	3,155	3,257
19 years old	4,237	4,130	3,627	3,291	3,074	2,956	2,817
20 to 24	21,448	18,085	15,258	13,307	12,955	12,781	12,728
25 to 29	20,239	17,327	15,940	13,669	12,201	11,269	10,667
30 to 34	16,786	14,605	14,301	12,743	11,475	10,801	10,183
35 to 39	13,257	11,895	11,835	10,834	9,875	9,421	9,062
40 to 44	10,791	9,679	9,684	9,008	8,160	7,932	7,616
45 to 49	10,017	8,736	8,629	7,839	6,830	6,614	6,414
50 to 54	9,759	8,848	8,663	7,940	6,895	6,676	6,489
55 and over	9,887	8,633	8,331	7,514	6,588	6,928	7,106
Total	122,697	107,994	102,360	91,598	83,072	80,029	77,875

Age group	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18	8	10	12	5	6	12	10
18 years old	15	18	18	16	13	13	14
19 years old	15	13	16	10	9	9	10
20 to 24	46	41	43	31	31	33	29
25 to 29	32	32	27	22	20	13	13
30 to 34	19	18	23	19	13	18	13
35 to 39	14	18	17	16	14	15	16
40 to 44	22	21	21	14	11	15	15
45 to 49	29	26	23	19	16	14	15
50 to 54	20	22	21	20	18	22	20
55 and over	22	16	19	19	17	12	11
Total	242	235	240	191	168	176	166

Scottish Borders unitary authority
Under 18	20	24	23	14	15	18	18
18 years old	26	31	35	35	26	32	25
19 years old	23	24	27	23	26	26	22
20 to 24	89	84	85	57	58	71	60
25 to 29	54	57	54	44	35	28	26
30 to 34	35	34	33	36	29	28	25
35 to 39	32	36	34	34	27	24	26
40 to 44	40	52	44	33	28	30	27
45 to 49	51	57	49	41	32	29	32
50 to 54	37	53	47	44	44	41	34
55 and over	36	44	43	43	33	33	35
Total	443	496	474	404	353	360	330

Scotland
Under 18	1,387	1,351	1,417	1,289	1,192	1,192	1,247
18 years old	2,227	2,165	2,161	1,983	1,897	1,836	1,939
19 years old	1,939	1,832	1,705	1,551	1,448	1,458	1,415
20 to 24	6,826	5,807	4,984	4,347	4,169	4,207	4,248
25 to 29	4,680	3,969	3,588	3,044	2,653	2,413	2,330
30 to 34	3,301	3,010	2,786	2,475	2,155	2,102	2,040
35 to 39	2,794	2,659	2,573	2,377	2,101	2,037	2,084
40 to 44	2,998	2,970	2,896	2,574	2,240	2,172	2,273
45 to 49	3,267	3,071	2,850	2,599	2,257	2,115	2,105
50 to 54	3,337	3,183	2,946	2,631	2,286	2,117	2,083
55 and over	2,944	2,706	2,525	2,243	1,858	1,914	1,925
Total	35,700	32,723	30,431	27,113	24,256	23,563	23,689

Age group	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency
Under 18	19	22	22	20	16	30	25
18 years old	44	46	58	43	36	42	41
19 years old	41	53	43	46	31	32	29
20 to 24	167	166	166	127	127	135	119
25 to 29	149	138	129	106	93	82	80
30 to 34	120	106	121	100	81	84	69
35 to 39	85	92	103	90	91	82	80
40 to 44	92	81	91	70	58	66	58
45 to 49	100	85	83	80	72	62	53
50 to 54	89	88	88	81	63	66	62
55 and over	74	71	81	70	67	65	66
Total	980	948	985	833	735	746	682

Scottish Borders unitary authority
Under 18	43	48	53	43	42	50	42
18 years old	78	98	97	87	83	83	69
19 years old	71	91	82	77	71	71	53
20 to 24	325	317	311	233	231	245	208
25 to 29	251	253	246	202	174	151	127
30 to 34	216	220	233	192	161	147	120
35 to 39	164	173	190	173	160	139	120
40 to 44	154	178	183	131	123	126	113
45 to 49	164	170	181	163	128	114	102
50 to 54	143	171	177	164	150	130	107
55 and over	134	168	174	162	140	143	139
Total	1,743	1,887	1,927	1,627	1,463	1,399	1,200

Scotland
Under 18	3,341	3,286	3,392	3,129	2,799	2,688	2,783
18 years old	6,550	6,285	6,277	5,595	5,309	4,992	5,196
19 years old	6,176	5,962	5,332	4,842	4,522	4,414	4,233
20 to 24	28,274	23,892	20,242	17,654	17,124	16,988	16,976
25 to 29	24,919	21,296	19,528	16,714	14,854	13,682	12,997
30 to 34	20,087	17,614	17,088	15,218	13,630	12,903	12,224
35 to 39	16,051	14,554	14,408	13,210	11,976	11,458	11,145
40 to 44	13,789	12,649	12,581	11,583	10,400	10,104	9,889
45 to 49	13,284	11,807	11,479	10,438	9,087	8,730	8,519
50 to 54	13,096	12,031	11,609	10,571	9,181	8,793	8,572
55 and over	12,831	11,338	10,855	9,756	8,445	8,842	9,031
Total	158,398	140,714	132,791	118,710	107,327	103,594	101,565

Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new jobs have been created in (a) Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) Scotland in each year since 1997. [182744]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 8 July 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Michael Moore, dated 12 July 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on jobs created in (a) Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) Scotland in each year since 1997.1 am replying in his absence. (182744)

12 Jul 2004 : Column 920W

While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) provide the number of jobs in December of each year.

The attached table shows the information requested, relating to employee jobs in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Parliamentary Constituency, the Scottish Borders Unitary Authority and Scotland from 1997 to 2002, the latest available year for which figures are available.

It is important to note that the ABI is primarily designed to give reliable estimates of job levels, rather than year-to-year changes. Particularly at Parliamentary Constituency level changes between successive years are likely to show considerable volatility. ABI data for 2002 is provisional, and subject to later revision.

The majority of the increase in jobs in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale and in the Scottish Borders seen between 1998 and 1999, and also between 2000 and 2001, occurred in the construction sector and the public administration, education and health sector.

Employees⁽¹¹⁾by workplace

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
Parliamentary Constituency
Scottish borders unitary authority
Scotland

Level 2 Annual change Level Annual change Level Annual change

1997 19,400 — 39,100 — 2,076,300 —

1998 18,900 -500 38,500 -700 2,161,900 85,600

1999 20,300 1,400 42,900 4,400 2,167,000 5,100

2000 19,500 -700 41,900 -1,000 2,234,300 67,300

2001 19,000 -500 40,900 -1,100 2,299,800 65,500

2002 21,500 2,500 42,000 1,200 2,277,900 -21,900

⁽¹¹⁾Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs
⁽¹²⁾ABI data for Parliamentary Constituencies excludes jobs in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC2003) Sector 0100:
Agriculture
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI)

12 Jul 2004 : Column 921W

	Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Parliamentary Constituency	Scottish borders unitary authority	Scotland
	Level 2	Annual change	Level	Annual change	Level	Annual change
1997	19,400	—	39,100	—	2,076,300	—
1998	18,900	-500	38,500	-700	2,161,900	85,600
1999	20,300	1,400	42,900	4,400	2,167,000	5,100
2000	19,500	-700	41,900	-1,000	2,234,300	67,300
2001	19,000	-500	40,900	-1,100	2,299,800	65,500
2002	21,500	2,500	42,000	1,200	2,277,900	-21,900

Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many British nationals he estimates have left the UK each year since 1992 for permanent employment in another EU member state, broken down by country. [182745]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 8 July 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Michael Moore, dated 12 July 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reply to your question regarding estimates for the number of British nationals who have left the UK for permanent employment in another European Union (EU) member state since 1992. I am replying in his absence. (182745)

Estimates of the number of British nationals migrating to another EU member state for work-related reasons are shown in the attached table. These data are drawn from the International Passenger Survey (IPS), the principal data source for measuring international migration to and from the UK.

The following should be noted:

'British nationals' have been interpreted as those travelling with a British passport.

An international migrant is defined as someone who changes his or her country of usual residence for a period of at least a year.

The IPS measures people's intentions at the time of arrival or departure. These intentions may or may not be realised.

The IPS asks the respondent their main reason for travel. The data includes those who said that their main reason for travel was business or work (where they had a definite job to go to), and that they intended to remain abroad for a period of at least a year. The estimates do not include people travelling for holiday work, business meetings or short- term contracts; they also do not include those stating they are travelling abroad to look for work. The IPS does not record whether a person is taking up permanent employment abroad.

The estimates do not include migration from the UK to the Irish Republic. The definition of the EU used for all years is that prior to expansion on the 1st May 2004 excluding the Irish Republic, i.e. the destination countries covered are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The attached table shows estimates for the above countries as a group for successive two-year periods from 1991–2 through to 2001–2. The IPS samples approximately 0.2 per cent. of all travellers using the principal air, sea and Channel Tunnel routes from the UK. This sample size is not large enough to allow reliable estimates to be made of the number of British nationals emigrating for work-related reasons by either destination country or by single year.

International migration, estimates from the International Passenger Survey: British Citizens migrating to the EU (excluding the Irish Republic) for work related reasons, United Kingdom

Thousands

1991–92 26.8

1993–94 26.1

1995–96 40.0

1997–98 23.9

1999–2000 29.5

2001–02 35.3

Note:
A small weighting adjustment has been applied to IPS data for 1991 to 1998. This reflects the estimated effect of applying the weighting improvements made to IPS data from 1999 onwards.

12 Jul 2004 : Column 922W

	Thousands
1991–92	26.8
1993–94	26.1
1995–96	40.0
1997–98	23.9
1999–2000	29.5
2001–02	35.3

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