§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statistics he keeps on the effect of Renfrew district on the Scottish economy; and if he will make a statement. [18997]
§ Mr. KynochAvailable official economic data include employment and unemployment statistics, data from the annual census of production, number of manufacturing and other units, data on the size and characteristics of the labour force from the labour force survey, VAT registrations and deregistrations, and detailed data on economic activity from the census of population. Because of the different dates and frequency of compilation, and the possible changes in boundary definitions over time, data from different sources cannot be reliably compared. Further details are given in the table.
75W
Source Frequency Latest available data Key statistics Census of Employment Biennial 1991 Employment by industry and gender status number of units Scottish Register of Employment Annual 1992 Manufacturing employment units Unemployment Monthly March 1995 Gender, age and duration (Note: rates are not available at district level) Annual Census of Production Annual 1992 Output, employment and purchases for production industries Labour Force Survey Quarterly Winter 1994/95 Characteristics of the labour force, numbers economically active, inactive. Data is limited at district level VAT Registrations Annual 1993 Registrations, deregistrations and end of year stocks, by broad industry group Census of Population Decennial 1991 Wealth of detail on economic activity, by industry, social class, and socio-economic group Availability of official data at district level or for similar sized areas is, in general, limited due to the relatively small sample sizes of key national surveys falling within districts. This applies across the United Kingdom/Great Britain. Further, districts do not match travel-to-work areas, creating conceptual and practical difficulties in providing some labour market statistics. Key statistics such as earnings and gross domestic product estimates have been produced at district level on an ad hoc basis, but are generally available only at Scottish regional level or above. Planned developments in data on services are at an all Scotland level, and not below in geographical terms.