§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many constituencies in(a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole have had a higher percentage rate of unemployment than Dundee East for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. LeeThe information requested is not available. Unemployment rates are not calculated for areas smaller that travel-to-work areas.
Employees in Employment in Great Britain June of each year Agriculture and Horticulture 1(0100) Coal Extraction and Solid Fuels (111) Shipbuilding and Repairs (3610) Iron and Steel (2210) 1977 358,000 312,000 142,000 222,000 1978 354,000 308,000 141,000 199,000 1979 339,000 299,000 135,000 191,000 1980 332,000 298,000 122,000 168,000 1981 324,000 285,000 113,000 130,000 1982 320,000 271,000 114,000 114,000 1983 312,000 257,000 109,000 95,000 1984 302,000 234,000 89,000 85,000 1985 304,000 219,000 82,000 83,000 1986 292,000 183,000 79,000 75,000 1987 283,000 154,000 72,000 72,000 1 Figures in brackets denote Groups and Activity Headings of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980. The figures are unadjusted for the effects of seasonal variations.
The estimates for shipbuilding and repairs and iron and steel are subject to considerable potential estimation error due to the relatively small number of employees in these industries.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current estimate for unclaimed benefit in(a) Scotland as a whole, (b) Tayside region and (c) Dundee.
§ Mr. PortilloI have been asked to reply.
For statistical reasons it is possible to provide take-up estimates only for Great Britain as a whole. A convenient summary of the national position is shown on pages 272 and 273 of the 1988 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 288).