Unemployment (Hansard, 27 June 1997)

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets he has for the reduction of unemployment(a) in the United Kingdom, (b) in England and (c) in London. [4116]

§ Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 26 June 1997]: Our policies aim to secure the goal of high and stable levels of employment. With this in mind, we will be announcing in the Budget details of our proposals to help young and long-term unemployed people move from welfare to work. We have not, however, set targets for the reduction of unemployment at either the national or local levels.

§ Dr. Kumar
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons aged under 25 years are registered unemployed in the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland. [5560]

§ Mrs. Liddell
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Dr. Ashok Kumar, dated 27 June 1997: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on how many persons under 25 years are registered unemployed in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency The data you have requested can only be derived from the monthly count of people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Unemployment Benefit and Income Support which were replaced by Jobseeker's Allowance in October 1996, or National Insurance credits). Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign on the designated day are counted. In April 1997, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 937 claimants aged 18 to 24 years in the constituency of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency.

§ Sir Richard Body
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made as to whether the unemployment figures published by his Department accurately reflect the number of people unemployed. [5490]
663W

§ Mrs. Liddell
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Sir Richard Body, dated 27 June 1997: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on whether the unemployment figures accurately reflect the number of people unemployed. I am responsible for deciding the form, coverage and timing of release of statistics issued by ONS, taking into account the views of customers. ONS consulted customers on the future presentation of labour market statistics; the consultation exercise was launched through an article in the Labour Market Trends published on 8 May. These proposals included the possibility of producing a monthly report from the LFS. Comments on the proposals should have been sent to ONS by 14 June. The proposals set out for consultation reflect the House of Commons Employment Select Committee recommendation that more prominence should be given to the measure of unemployment which is based on the internationally agreed ILO definition. ONS will publicly make available a response commanding wide support. The Government is committed to ensuring the widest possible acceptable of these statistics.