§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the contribution made to GDP by voluntary workers in the last financial year for which figures are available. [136068]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 6 November 2000]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 13 November 2000:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the contribution made to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by voluntary workers. (136068)554WThe contribution of voluntary workers to GDP is included in the National Accounts where the output of the organisations they work for is estimated as part of market activity. For example, the output of a charity shop, which may be staffed by unpaid volunteers, will be included in the output of retailers, and any profit the shop generates will appear in the income estimate of GDP. However, it is not possible to identify separately where this output that contributes to GDP has been produced by voluntary workers.The System of National Accounts (SNA) makes provision for information on unpaid work to be compiled in a satellite account. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently developing a Household Satellite Account, which will include, amongst other things, an estimate of the volume and value of voluntary work. It is expected that this will be published at the end of 2001.