§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what local unemployment figures are available for a basis of comparison in the movement of unemployment figures over the past 10 years; and how far back comparisons can be made with those local figures of unemployment which will henceforth be used.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsA consistent seasonally adjusted series of unemployment figures is available for Wales as a whole back to 1974. As a result of changes in methods of collection and analysis, there are, however, no figures for local unemployment which can be properly used as a basis of comparison over the whole of the past 10 years. Discontinuities in the figures have occurred as a result of three events: first, the change in the basis of the count in October 1982 from registered unemployed to a claimants system; secondly, the effects of the 1983 Budget provisions whereby some men, mainly aged 60 or over, no longer need to sign on at the unemployment benefit offices to receive benefits; and, thirdly, the recent change to a ward-based system for allocating claimants to localities.
The recently introduced "ward-based" unemployment figures, which give a more accurate geographical representation of areas than any previous series, is to be made available from June 1983, although it was only fully introduced earlier this year.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the level of unemployment in each local area in Wales for which figures are available for September; and if he will indicate the corresponding figures drawn up on the same basis, for each such local area for January and August respectively.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsThe smallest area for which unemployment rates are calculated is the travel-to-work area. The following information is therefore on that basis: 155W
January 1985 Per cent. August 1985 Per cent. September 1985 Per cent. Fishguard 669 21.3 668 21.3 686 21.9 Haverfordwest 3,908 18.8 3,836 18.4 4,086 19.6 Holyhead 3,939 23.2 3,725 21.9 4,002 23.5 Lampeter and Aberaeron 1,115 24.4 1,006 22.0 1,161 25.4 Llandeilo 485 14.9 504 15.4 535 16.4 Llandrindod Wells 1,121 15.3 1,048 14.3 1,090 14.8 Llanelli 6,193 19.2 5,688 17.6 6,214 19.2 Machynlleth 598 20.0 483 16.2 502 16.8 Merthyr and Rhymney 10,886 20.7 10,705 20.3 11,344 21.6 Monmouth 645 13.3 639 13.2 655 13.5 Neath and Port Talbot 8,581 17.0 7,565 15.0 8,332 16.5 Newport 13,173 16.3 12,712 15.8 13,587 16.9 Newtown 1,151 13.9 1,035 12.5 1,058 12.7 Pontypool and Cwmbran 6,330 16.8 6,116 16.2 6,592 17.5 Pontypridd and Rhondda 11,712 18.3 11,003 17.2 11,733 18.3 Porthmadog/Ffestiniog 1,136 18.7 860 14.2 975 16.1 Pwllheli 1,230 23.0 849 15.9 964 18.0 Shotton, Flint and Rhyl 13,530 20.0 12,258 18.1 13,370 19.7 South Pembrokeshire 3,152 23.4 2,660 19.8 2,950 21.9 Swansea 18,997 17.0 17,981 16.1 19,081 17.1 Welshpool 960 14.6 870 13.2 918 13.9 Wrexham 8,309 18.3 7,919 17.5 8,593 18.9