HC Deb 17 November 1997 vol 301 cc18-20W
Mr. Pond

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many and what percentage of (i) male and (ii) female employees had total earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions; and what percentage of these were part-time workers in(a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) the most recent available figures; [155091

(2) if he will list for April 1997 the number and proportion of manual, non-manual and all part-time employees on adult rates earning less than (a) £4.61, (b) £6.15 and (c) £6.60 per hour excluding overtime for (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) in total for (1) each county and unitary authority in England, (2) each unitary authority in Wales, (3) each London borough, (4) each unitary authority in Scotland, (5) Great Britain as a whole, (6) England as a whole and (7) each Government office region; [15555]

(3) how many and what percentage of (i) male and (ii) female employees with total earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions are (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 24, (c) 25 years or older and (d) below pension age; [15508]

(4) if he will list for April 1997 the number and proportion of (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) all employees in Great Britain whose earnings excluding overtime payments are less than (i) £4.61 an hour, (ii) £6.15 an hour and (iii) £6.60 an hour, broken down into (1) 16–17, (2) 18–24, (3) 25– 44 and (4) 45–65-year-olds; [15556]

(5) if he will list for April 1997 the number and proportion of manual, non-manual and all full-time employees on adult rates earning less than (a) £4.61, (b) £6.15 and (c) £6.60 per hour excluding overtime for (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) in total for (1) each county and unitary authority in England, (2) each unitary authority in Wales, (3) each London borough, (4) each unitary authority in Scotland, (5) Great Britain as a whole, (6) England as a whole and (7) each Government office region; [15558]

(6) if he will estimate the average weekly hours of work and average hourly and weekly earnings of men and women with total earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions; [15510]

(7) what proportion of men and women with total earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions have been in their current employment for over 26 weeks; [15623]

(8) if he will list for April 1997 the number and proportion of (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) all employees on adult rates of pay in Great Britain whose earnings excluding overtime payments are less than (i) £4.61 an hour, (ii) £6.15 an hour and (iii) £6.60 an hour, broken down by standard occupational classification and by standard industrial classification; [15557]

(9) if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) percentage of (i) men and (ii) women with total earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions whose annual earnings exceed £1,600 in the last year for which figures are available. [15513]

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 Mr. Chris Pond, dated 17 November 1997: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me, as the Director of the Office for National Statistics, to reply to your recent questions (15508, 15509, 15510, 15513, 15555, 15556, 15557, 15558 and 15623) on earnings. The available information, from the New Earnings Survey April 1997 and the Labour Force Survey, is given in the attached tables. Information for employees earning below the lower earnings limit whose annual earnings exceed £1600 is not available. The LFS does not collect such data and the NES sample largely excludes employees earning below the lower earnings limit. I will arrange for a copy of this letter and the attached tables to be placed in the House of Commons Library.