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12 Dec 2006 : Column 980W—continued

The main components of expenditure on housing are rent (less housing benefit), mortgage interest payments and council tax. Some types of housing costs are excluded from the definition of total household expenditure. House purchases, including through mortgage capital repayments, and expenditure on major house alterations and improvements are both excluded. These are generally irregular, involve large sums of money, and the purchase of assets which are not consumed, and for these reasons they are not regarded as current expenditure.

Chapter 2 of ‘Family Spending’ focuses in particular on housing expenditure and provides fuller information on all housing costs, irrespective of whether they are regarded as current or capital expenditure.

Average household spending on housing, utilities and food as a percentage of total expenditure by gross income decile group 2004-05( 1)
		Percentage
		decile group
	Lowest 10 per cent.	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth	Seventh	Eighth	Ninth
Lower boundary of group (£ per week)	—	132	205	281	375	472	579	709	885
Food and non-alcoholic drinks	16	16	14	12	12	11	10	10	9
Housing costs	15	16	16	19	18	18	18	18	18
Rent(2)	5	5	6	6	4	4	3	2	2
Maintenance and repair of dwelling	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Household insurance(3)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Moving house	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	1
Mortgage interest, Council Tax	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	12	12
Utility costs	9	8	6	5	5	4	4	4	3
Water supply and other services	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Electricity, gas and other fuels	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	2
Total expenditure, £ per week (= 100 per cent.)	147	178	249	313	373	436	490	568	665

Percentage
	Highest 10 per cent.	All households
Lower boundary of group (£ per week)	1,184	—
Food and non-alcoholic drinks	7	10
Housing costs	18	18
Rent(2)	2	3
Maintenance and repair of dwelling	2	2
Household insurance(3)	1	1
Moving house	1	1
Mortgage interest, Council Tax	12	11
Utility costs	3	4
Water supply and other services	1	1
Electricity, gas and other fuels	2	3
Total expenditure, £ per week (= 100 per cent.)	926	434
(1 )Where components do not sum to totals, this is due to rounding. (2) Rent paid on first and second dwellings and after housing benefits and rebates. (3) Includes both structural and contents insurance. Source: Family Spending 2004-05, ONS

12 Dec 2006 : Column 981W

Iraq

Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 452-53W, on Iraq, how much each Government Department provided for reconstruction in Iraq in each month since March 2003. [105502]

Mr. Timms: The information requested is available on page 225 of the Department for International Development's departmental report.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 452-3W, on Iraq, from which (a) sources and (b) departments the Global Conflict Prevention Pool is funded. [105503]

Mr. Timms: The Global Conflict Prevention Pool is a pool of resources jointly owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence. Under current arrangements, the Pool is funded as a separate area of spending and does not draw from the individual settlements of those three Departments.

Labour Statistics

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men, (b) women, (c) young people and (d) people in Tamworth were unemployed in November 1997; and how many are unemployed according to the most recent figures. [107010]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many (a) men, (b) women, (c) young people and (d) people in Tamworth were unemployed in November 1997; and how many are unemployed according to the most recent figures. (107010).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.

Table 1, attached, shows the number of unemployed people, males, females and young people (aged 16 to 24) resident in the Tamworth constituency for the 12 months ending in February 1998 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2006 from the APS. Table 2 shows corresponding unemployment rates.

These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution

ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 3, attached, shows the number of people, males, females and young persons (aged 18 to 24) resident in the Tamworth constituency, claiming JSA in November 1997 and in October 2006. Table 4 shows these figures expressed as a proportion of the resident population of working age.

12 Dec 2006 : Column 982W

Table 1: Number of unemployed persons resident in the Tamworth constituency
Thousand
12 months ending	Total	Male	Female	Persons aged 16 to 24
February 1998	2	1	1	(1)—
March 2006	3	1	1	(1)—
(1) Sample sizes are too small to provide estimates. Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution. Sources: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey

Table 2: Unemployment rates( 1) for persons resident in the Tamworth constituency
Percentage
12 months ending	Total	Male	Female	Persons aged 16 to 24
February 1998	4.6	2.8	6.9	(2)—
March 2006	5.6	4.5	7.1	(2)—
(1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. (2) Sample sizes are too small to provide estimates. Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution. Sources: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey.

Table 3: Claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance resident in the Tamworth constituency
Month	Total	Male	Female	Persons aged 18 to 24( 1)
November 1997	1,492	1,056	436	435
October 2006	1,232	845	387	405
(1) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data

Table 4: Claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance resident in the Tamworth constituency as a proportion of the resident working-age population.
Percentage
Month	Total	Male	Female	Persons aged 18 to 24( 1)
November 1997	2.6	3.5	1.6	(2)n/a
October 2006	2.1	2.8	1.4	(2)n/a
(1) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to the nearest 5. (2 )Not available. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data

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