HC Deb 25 February 2002 vol 380 cc1053-5W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees in each region and nation of the UK, and what percentage of all employees, had earnings below the lower earnings limit for national insurance in each year since 1997; and what proportion of such workers were women. [37291]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 25 February 2002: As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of employees earning below the lower earnings limit for National Insurance since 1997. (37291) The attached table gives the available information from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the autumn (September to November) quarters of each year from 1997 to 2001.

Numbers and percentages of employees whose gross weekly earnings are less than the lower limit for national insurance. Autumn (September to November) quarters 1996 to 2001, not seasonally adjusted
Government Office Regions Thousands Percentage of all employees Percentage who are women
Autumn (September to November) 1996
United Kingdom 2,534 11.1 78.1
England 2,164 11.2 78.1
North East 120 12.3 80.0
North West 302 11.6 82.7
Yorkshire and the Humber 217 11.3 75.7
East Midlands 224 13.0 81.8
West Midlands 225 10.7 85.9
Eastern 261 12.0 81.3
London 167 6.3 72.4
South East 392 11.9 74.7
South West 258 13.9 71.3
Wales 137 13.2 74.8
Scotland 186 9.2 77.3
Northern Ireland 1— 1— 1—
Autumn (September to November) 1997
United Kingdom 2,509 10.7 78.8
England 2,131 10.8 78.6
North East 127 13.1 80.7
North West 291 11.0 78.3
Yorkshire and the Humber 222 11.2 79.9
East Midlands 209 11.9 77.8
West Midlands 236 10.9 76.9
Eastern 242 10.8 82.8
London 189 6.8 72.7
South East 362 10.8 79.0
South West 253 13.1 79.0
Wales 107 10.3 83.2
Scotland 216 10.6 78.7
Northern Ireland 55 9.5 74.3
Autumn (September to November) 1998
United Kingdom 2,435 10.1 78.5
England 2,058 10.2 78.6
North East 133 13.8 80.2
North West 298 11.1 80.5
Yorkshire and the Humber 201 9.9 82.5
East Midlands 190 10.8 78.4
West Midlands 230 10.4 78.8
Eastern 236 10.3 78.4
London 195 6.8 67.9
South East 333 9.5 78.4
South West 243 12.2 81.2
Wales 121 11.3 81.9
Scotland 205 9.8 79.3
Northern Ireland 51 8.7 65.2
Autumn (September to November) 1999
United Kingdom 2,262 9.3 76.8
England 1,901 9.3 76.7
North East 109 11.3 83.1
North West 255 9.2 74.2
Yorkshire and the Humber 167 8.2 85.1
East Midlands 170 9.6 79.1
West Midlands 228 10.4 79.2
Eastern 217 9.4 78.9
London 202 6.9 64.4
South East 319 9.1 73.7
South West 233 11.4 78.7
Wales 129 11.8 77.6
Scotland 189 9.0 77.5
Northern Ireland 43 7.3 78.1
Autumn (September to November) 2000
United Kingdom 2,104 8.5 75.2
England 1,774 8.5 75.1
North East 88 8.8 78.2
North West 227 8.2 77.2
Yorkshire and the Humber 220 10.5 73.0
East Midlands 152 8.5 80.6
West Midlands 203 9.2 78.1
Eastern 203 8.5 75.2
London 170 5.9 64.3
South East 319 9.0 76.7
South West 192 9.3 73.3
Wales 116 10.6 69.6
Scotland 166 7.7 77.0
Northern Ireland 48 7.9 87.0

Numbers and percentages of employees whose gross weekly earnings are less than the lower limit for national insurance. Autumn (September to November) quarters 1996 to 2001, not seasonally adjusted
Government Office Regions Thousands Percentage of all employees Percentage who are women
Autumn (September to November) 2001
United Kingdom 2,060 8.3 75.3
England 1,746 8.3 75.0
North East 84 8.3 77.4
North West 223 8.0 76.4
Yorkshire and the Humber 191 9.2 78.0
East Midlands 161 8.9 77.5
West Midlands 191 8.5 80.6
Eastern 220 9.1 73.6
London 154 5.1 64.9
South East 291 8.1 74.1
South West 231 11.1 73.5
Wales 96 8.7 81.7
Scotland 158 7.4 77.1
Northern Ireland 59 9.7 66.9
1 Sample size too small for reliable estimate.

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey.