§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are claiming benefits relating to unemployment; and if he will make a statement. [28641]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter to Miss Anne McIntosh from Len Cook, dated 28 January 2002:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question regarding the number of people claiming benefits relating to unemployment. (28641)The claimant count consists of all people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits at Employment Service local offices. They must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which their claim is made.The latest available figure relates to December 2001, when the seasonally adjusted claimant count for the United Kingdom was 963,500.