HC Deb 10 June 1988 vol 134 cc709-10W
Mr. Amess

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are employed in(a) the United Kingdom, by region, and (b) Basildon, in the collection and disposal of litter and industrial waste; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the total local work force.

Mr. Lee

Estimates are not separately available for the industries specified. The latest available figures for the regions of the United Kingdom are for employment in all sanitary services (class 92 of the standard industrial classification 1980) in December 1987. These cover refuse disposal, public cleansing, street cleaning, fumigation, disinfection, pest destroying (including treatment against woodworm and woodrot), sewage disposal and cleaning services (including window cleaning, chimney sweeping and units specialising in cleaning industrial, commercial and Government premises).

The information is as follows. The figures are unadjusted for the effects of seasonal variations.

Employees in employment in the Sanitary Services Industry Numbers as a percentage of the (Civilian) (Working Population1)
South East 170,000 1.8
East Anglia 13,000 1.3
South West 40,000 2.0
West Midlands 37,000 1.4
East Midlands 21,000 1.1
Yorkshire and Humberside 31,000 1.3
North West 27,000 0.9
North 14,000 1.0
Wales 12,000 1.0
Scotland 35,000 1.5
Northern Ireland 4,000 0.6
1 The Civilian Working Population is the sum of Employees in Employment, the Self Employed, and Unemployed.

The available information for Basildon is from the September 1984 census of employment. There were then 500 employees employed in the sanitary services industry. This represents 1 per cent. of the sum of all employees in employment and the unemployed in the area at that time.