HC Deb 13 June 2000 vol 351 cc604-6W
Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance in each constituency in Devon, Torbay and Plymouth, broken down by age group for the period from August 1998 to the latest date for which figures are available. [124992]

Angela Eagle

The administration of Jobseeker's Allowance is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 12 June 2000: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent question asking if he will list the number of people in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance for each constituency in Devon, Torbay and Plymouth, broken down by age group for the period from August 1998 to the latest date for which figures are available. The information is in the attached tables. I hope this is helpful.

Table 1. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants by parliamentary constituency, August 1998
Thousand
All cases Aged under 25 25–59 60 and over
Plymouth, Devonport 2.8 0.8 1.9
Plymouth, Sutton 3.5 0.9 2.6
South West Devon 1.1 *0.3 0.8
Torbay 2.5 0.6 1.9
East Devon 0.9 *0.3 0.6
Exeter 2.1 0.8 1.3
North Devon 1.6 *0.4 1.2
Teignbridge 1.9 *0.4 1.5
Tiverton and Honiton 1.4 *0.4 1.0
Torridge and West 2.1 0.6 1.5
Totnes 1.6 *0.3 1.3

Table 2. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants by parliamentary constituency, August 1999
Thousand
All cases Aged under 25 25–59 60 and over
Plymouth, Devonport 2.1 0.5 1.6
Plymouth, Sutton 3.2 0.7 2.5
South West Devon 0.8 *0.3 0.5
Torbay 2.6 0.5 2.0
East Devon 0.8 *0.2 0.6
Exeter 1.9 0.5 1.3
North Devon 1.4 *0.3 1.1
Teignbridge 1.4 *0.3 1.2
Tiverton and Honiton 1.0 *0.3 0.6
Torridge and West 1.7 *0.4 1.3
Totnes 1.5 *0.2 1.3

Table 3. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants by parliamentary constituency, February 2000
Thousand
All cases Aged under 25 25–59 60 and over
Plymouth, Devonport 2.1 0.6 1.7
Plymouth, Sutton 3.2 0.8 2.4
South West Devon 0.7 *0.3 *0.4
Torbay 2.4 *0.5 1.8
East Devon 0.8 *0.4 *0.5
Exeter 2.0 0.6 1.3
North Devon 1.6 *0.3 1.3
Teignbridge 1.6 0.5 1.0
Tiverton and Honiton 1.1 *0.5 0.6
Torridge and West Devon 1.7 0.6 1.1
Totnes 1.7 *0.2 1.2

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and quoted in thousands.

2. Sample size 5%, therefore subject to sampling error.

3. Figures marked '*'of less than 500 are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should be used as a guide to the current situation only.

4. '—' denotes nil or negligible.

5. Cases in August 1998 are allocated to each Parliamentary Constituency by matching postcodes against the 1999 version 1 of the Postcode Directory.