HC Deb 31 January 2000 vol 343 cc442-3W
Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for each year since 1979 to date, the number of(a) long-term unemployed, (b) young unemployed and (c) total unemployed in Shrewsbury and Atcham; and if he will make a statement. [107258]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Paul Marsden, dated 31 January 2000: As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the number of unemployed in Shrewsbury and Atcham. The ONS publishes a monthly count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits. The claimant count consists of all people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits at Employment Service local offices. They must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made. The information requested can be obtained from the Nomis database at the House of Commons Library. Information on the claimant count by parliamentary constituency is available monthly from June 1983. Information on the claimant count by age and duration for computerised claims only is available monthly from June 1985. Both are on the unadjusted basis only.