§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether children between the age of 16 and 18 years who are estranged from their parents and receiving income support while unemployed are excluded from the total unemployment monthly figures.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThose aged 16 to 17 who receive unemployment-related benefits as special hardship cases are included in the headline total of the monthly claimant unemployment count, but not in the corresponding consistent, seasonally adjusted series. In order to maintain consistency, over time the latter is restricted to those aged 18 and over.