§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconcile the figures published by(a) the Office for National Statistics and (b) the Department of the Environment for the number of people employed in the construction industry; and what assessment he has made of the increase in productivity in the construction industry over the last 10 years. [11031]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe Office for National Statistics and the Department of the Environment expect to reconcile the figures by the end of 1997.
The index of output per person employed is published by ONS in "Labour Market Trends". The index uses value added data from DOE and employment data from the ONS work force in employment series. The index increased by 16.4 per cent. in the 10 years to the third quarter of 1996.