§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of households(a) in each region and (b) in total have no one in full-time employment; and if he will make a statement. [4854]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 24 June 1997]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tom Holt to Mr. Lembit Öpik, dated 25 June 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on what percentage of households have no one in full-time employment.Estimates available from the Labour Force Survey for non-pensioner households are shown in the attached table using the new Government Office Region (GOR) geography.It is widely accepted that analyses of households with no one in employment or, in this case, no one in full-time employment, should exclude pensioner households. This area of analysis is relatively new for the LFS and the definition of non-pensioner or working age households is not yet firmly established. The table provided is based on the same definition of non-pensioner household as previous responses to parliamentary questions to this topic. The ONS has been assessing the various alternative definitions and expects to publish its recommendations in the September issue of Labour Market Trends.
Non-pensioner households with no one in full-time employment, not seasonally adjusted, winter 1996–97 Region Per cent. United Kingdom 24.8 Great Britain 24.8 England 24.3 North-east 31.2 North-west and Merseyside 27.8 North-west 26.5 Merseyside 33.3 Yorkshire and Humberside 26.2 East Midlands 21.7 West Midlands 23.9 Eastern 20.3 London 29.2 South-east 18.0 South-west 22.3 Wales 29.1 Scotland 27.1 Northern Ireland 27.3 Source:
Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics.