§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what studies his Department has carried out with regard to the travel-to-work areas into the possibility of a causal link between unemployment and length of journey to work.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe Department has carried out no studies into the relationship between the length of journeys to work in a travel-to-work area and the area's unemployment rate.
§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) in drawing up the travel-to-work areas, what consideration was given to the correlation between type of employment or location of residence and the level of unemployment in particular socio-economic groups;
(2) how the direction of the hypothetical travel patterns of the unemployed in travel-to-work areas were determined by his Department;
(3) in drawing up the travel-to-work areas, what consideration was given to the posibility that if jobs became available at a distance those currently employed would, in apparent contrast to others in their socio-economic groups, travel to them.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkAs is explained in the supplement published with the September 1984 edition ofEmployment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library, the review of travel-to-work areas was based on analysis of the travel-to-work patterns observed in the 1981 Census of Population. The hypothetical travel patterns for the unemployed, which were incorporated into the analysis, were arrived at by assuming that the unemployed residents of a particular ward would have the same travel patterns as employed people of the same socio-economic group living in the same ward. Apart from this no account was taken of correlation between type of employment of location of residence and the level of unemployment in particular socio-economic groups, or of the possible effect on journey patterns (of the currently employed or unemployed) of new jobs possibly becoming available at any particular location.
§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment with regard to the travel-to-work areas, what is his Department's definition of socio-economic group.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe socio-economic groups are defined in appendix B2 of the Classification of Occupations 1980, a copy of which is in the Library. The review of travel-to-work areas used 18 groups including the subdivision of group 5 defined in the classification.
§ Mr, Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment, with regard to travel-to-work areas, what was the value of the calculations of the measure 107W commuting links formula for (a) Silloth ward and the wards 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 of Carlisle proto travel-to-work area, (b) Silloth ward and the Aspatria-Ellen wards of Allerdale proto travel-to-work area, (c) Silloth ward and the Castle-Dalton-Netherhall-Northside-St. Michael's-Stainburn-Westfield wards of Allerdale proto travel-to-work area, (d) Waver Ward and the Wampool-Wigton wards of Allerdale proto travel-to-work area, (e) Waver ward and the Aspatria-Ellen wards of Allerdale proto travel-to-work and (f) Waver ward and the Castle-Dalton-Netherhall-Northside-St. Michael's-Stainburn-Westfield ward of Allerdale proto travel-to-work area.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe commuting links requested are as follows:
Silloth ward and:—
- (a) Wards 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 of Carlisle district: 0.00702
- (b) Aspatria and Ellen wards: 0.00009
- (c) Castle, Dalton, Netherhall, Northside, St. Michael's Stainburn and Westfield wards: 0.00010
Waver ward and:—
- (d) Wampool and Wigton wards: 0.00014
- (e) Aspatria and Ellen wards: 0.00006
- (f) Castle, Dalton, Netherhall, St. Michael's Stainburn and Westfield wards: 0.0
§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what studies his Department has conducted with regard to travel-to-work areas, into the possibility of a causal link between length of journey to work and socio-economic groups.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkTable 4 of the workplace and transport-to-work volume of the 1981 Census of Population, a copy of which is in the Library, shows that members of certain socio-economic groups tend to travel further to work than members of other groups. The Manpower Services Commission has commissioned the centre for urban and regional development studies at Newcastle university to investigate the travel-to-work patterns of specific subgroups of the population, including some particular socio-economic groups.
§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Employment, in preparing the travel-to-work areas, in what ways the availability of public transport was considered.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe review of travel-to-work areas was based on analysis of the travel-to-work patterns observed in the 1981 Census of Population; these patterns reflect, amongst other things, the availability and use of public transport for journeys to work.