§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of people of working age were living in households where no one worked in the spring quarter of 2001. [5234]
§ Mr. Boateng[holding answer 19 July 2001]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Frank Field, dated 20 July 2001:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning people living in households where no-one worked. I am replying in his absence. (5234)In autumn (September-November) 2000, the estimate of the proportion of working age people living in households where no-one worked was 11.8 per cent.567WThis estimate is derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). It defines workless households as households with no-one in employment, consisting of those who are unemployed and/or inactive. Working-age households, are defined as households including at least one person of working age, i.e. a man aged 16 to 64 or a woman aged 16 to 59. The data above relates to autumn 2000, which is the latest available (Spring 2001 household data will be released on 25 July 2001).