---

7 Sept 2004 : Column 1200W—continued

Long-term Unemployment

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate the Government have made of how many (a) men and (b) women over the age of 50 were defined as long-term unemployed in each year since 1997; [186930]

(2) what estimate the Government have made of the percentage of men and women over the age of 50 who were defined as long-term unemployed in each year since 1997, broken down by region. [186945]

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. Shaun Woodward, dated 7 September 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about long-term unemployment. (186945, 186930)

Table 1 shows the number of men and women aged 50 and over in long-term unemployment. Table 2 shows the rate of long-term unemployment as a percentage of all unemployment in this age group. Both tables relate to the three month periods ending in May of each year from 1997 to 2004.

Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability. In particular, estimates for UK regions are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high degree of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution.

Table 1: Number of people aged 50 and over who are long-term unemployed⁽⁸⁶⁾, by gender, UK regions, 1997 to 2004(three-month periods ending May each year) Thousand

Region	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total
North East	9	10	11	8	6	5	6	6
North West	16	18	15	16	10	9	7	6
Yorkshire and Humberside	14	12	12	5	5	4	9	6
East Midlands	15	7	7	6	5	5	5	5
West Midlands	20	15	13	15	12	10	8	5
Eastern	16	12	10	7	4	7	5	5
London	32	25	24	18	15	13	16	12
South East	18	17	9	10	6	6	5	7
South West	11	12	9	5	5	4	5	2
Wales	7	9	6	5	4	5	2	3
Scotland	17	13	15	18	10	15	11	8
Northern Ireland	7	6	3	4	3	3	3	3
United Kingdom	183	157	134	118	85	87	82	69
Male
North East	6	9	8	6	5	4	5	5
North West	14	14	12	13	7	7	7	4
Yorkshire and Humberside	12	11	11	4	4	4	7	6
East Midlands	11	5	5	4	4	4	3	4
West Midlands	15	12	10	12	11	8	6	4
Eastern	12	8	7	5	2	5	3	4
London	22	16	18	14	12	9	10	8
South East	15	11	6	7	4	4	5	4
South West	7	9	7	4	3	4	3	2
Wales	6	8	6	4	4	4	1	2
Scotland	13	10	12	15	8	12	9	6
Northern Ireland	6	6	3	3	2	2	3	3
United Kingdom	139	119	104	92	67	66	62	52
Female
North East	3	1	2	2	1	1	1	1
North West	3	4	3	4	3	2	1	2
Yorkshire and Humberside	2	1	1	1	0	1	2	0
East Midlands	4	2	2	2	1	1	2	1
West Midlands	6	3	2	3	1	2	2	1
Eastern	4	5	3	2	2	2	2	1
London	10	8	7	4	3	4	6	4
South East	3	6	4	3	2	2	1	3
South West	4	3	2	1	2	1	2	0
Wales	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1
Scotland	4	3	3	3	1	3	2	2
Northern Ireland	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	0
United Kingdom	44	38	30	26	17	22	20	17

⁽⁸⁶⁾ Unemployed for one year or more.
Note:
Estimates for UK regions are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility, and should not be used is isolation from the estimates for a sequence of years.
Source:
ONS: Labour Force Survey.





 
7 Sept 2004 : Column 1201W
 

Table 2: Percentage of unemployed people aged 50 and over who are long-term unemployed⁽⁸⁷⁾, by gender, UK regions, 1997 to 2004(three-month periods ending May each year) Percentage⁽⁸⁸⁾

Region	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total
North East	55	55	57	47	47	38	46	49
North West	51	61	43	49	36	40	36	35
Yorkshire and Humberside	53	52	44	24	33	27	44	38
East Midlands	56	48	37	33	37	23	28	32
West Midlands	63	57	44	46	54	38	39	23
Eastern	52	47	46	38	27	38	26	24
London	59	57	55	46	53	38	44	35
South East	41	47	34	36	27	23	18	26
South West	41	51	38	24	35	24	29	15
Wales	57	57	37	47	51	39	17	31
Scotland	51	46	50	50	39	52	49	35
Northern Ireland	73	68	66	55	49	49	40	53
United Kingdom	52.9	52.9	45.4	41.7	40.2	35.4	35.2	31.5
Male
North East	53	66	60	48	53	40	50	49
North West	55	60	44	54	38	45	43	37
Yorkshire and Humberside	61	59	49	29	39	39	50	46
East Midlands	61	48	43	35	45	25	26	38
West Midlands	64	57	53	56	55	43	43	23
Eastern	53	43	50	43	25	50	30	28
London	64	59	57	50	55	40	45	42
South East	49	46	34	35	26	21	22	26
South West	38	59	42	32	39	31	31	17
Wales	76	72	45	52	55	55	15	33
Scotland	55	51	55	51	43	58	52	35
Northern Ireland	74	77	73	60	49	48	47	62
United Kingdom	57.3	56.7	49.6	46.0	43.8	40.3	38.5	34.5
Female
North East	62	24	49	47	31	33	32	52
North West	38	62	40	37	31	30	12	30
Yorkshire and Humberside	32	25	25	16	11	11	33	11
East Midlands	45	49	27	27	23	18	29	19
West Midlands	59	54	25	27	38	27	30	23
Eastern	49	54	38	27	30	22	20	17
London	50	53	51	36	46	34	41	26
South East	23	49	34	39	29	29	10	28
South West	47	35	30	11	29	12	26	10
Wales	18	24	11	32	31	18	26	27
Scotland	40	35	35	47	23	37	39	38
Northern Ireland	63	20	38	43	49	50	20	23
United Kingdom	42.7	43.7	35.0	31.4	30.6	26.0	27.8	25.0

⁽⁸⁷⁾ Unemployed for one year or more.
⁽⁸⁸⁾ Long-term unemployed people as a percentage of all unemployed people.
Note:
Estimates for UK regions are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility, and should not be used is isolation from the estimates for a sequence of years.
Source:
ONS: Labour Force Survey.




 
7 Sept 2004 : Column 1203W
 

Mortgage Market

Mr. Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is proposing to improve the working of the UK mortgage market following the Miles Review; and if he will make a statement. [186633]

Ruth Kelly: On 12 March 2004 David Miles published his review of the UK mortgage market. His remit was to undertake analysis of supply and demand side factors limiting the development of the longer-term fixed-rate mortgage market in the UK, and to examine whether there has been any market failure that has held back the market for longer-term fixed-rate mortgages. In Budget 2004 the Chancellor endorsed the conclusion in David Miles review of the UK mortgage market that "urgent reform is desirable to make the market work better for consumers in a number of areas". The Treasury has been discussing the recommendations with a range of stakeholders including the Financial Services Authority, and intends to provide a detailed update in the Pre-Budget Report.
 
7 Sept 2004 : Column 1204W
 

Older Workers

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2004, Official Report, column 602W, on people of retirement age, how many people above state pension age were in employment for the same period in each year since 1992. [186770]

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. David Willetts, dated 7 September 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about people of retirement age in employment. (186770)

The attached table gives the estimates of the number of people above state pension age in employment for the three months ending May each year from 1992 to 2004.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to sampling variability.

 
7 Sept 2004 : Column 1205W
 

Number⁽⁸⁹⁾ of people above state pension age⁽⁹⁰⁾ in employment, United Kingdom, 3 month periods ending May each year from 1992 to 2004

Thousand
	Number of people
1992	814
1993	770
1994	779
1995	794
1996	770
1997	802
1998	775
1999	817
2000	831
2001	819
2002	887
2003	933
2004	995

⁽⁸⁹⁾ Seasonally adjusted.
⁽⁹⁰⁾ This refers to men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.
Source:
ONS: Labour Force Survey.

---