§ Mr. George OsborneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were economically inactive and what the economic inactivity rate was for each quarter since Quarter 1 1997. broken down by(a) qualification level, (b) income bracket, (c) former profession where applicable, (d) age group and (e) sex, in each (i) constituency and (ii) region. [152932]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. George Osborne, dated 9 February 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. (152932)I regret that this information could only be provided in full at disproportionate cost. However, some of the higher-level information requested is published on the ONS website, or on the Nomis(database, both of which are available via the House of Commons Library.Information about economic inactivity levels by age and sex in each region is published in Table 10 of the Labour Market Statistics Regional First Releases, which can be accessed from the following page on the ONS website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ press-release/Archive.asp. These estimates, from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), are subject to revisions. LFS estimates published in the Regional First Releases prior to 13 November 2003 are not directly comparable with current data. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.ONS does not publish estimates of economic inactivity rates by age and sex for each region. However, these can be calculated by subtracting the economic activity rate (published in Table 9 of the Regional First Releases) from 100 per cent.For Parliamentary Constituency areas, ONS produces information about economic inactivity rates, but not levels, by age and sex. This information is available on a yearly basis and can be obtained from the Nomis(database.
§ Mr. George OsborneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what(a) benefits and (b) tax credits are available to people who are economically inactive. [152933]
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§ Dawn PrimaroloIncapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Income Support and Housing and Council Tax Benefit are the principal benefits available to working age people who are economically inactive. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.
§ Mr. George OsborneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of(a) benefits and (b) tax credits paid to people who were economically inactive in each year since 1997. [152934]
§ Dawn PrimaroloInformation on expenditure on benefits which are primarily paid to economically inactive people of working age is published in the Benefit Expenditure Tables on the Department of Work and Pensions' Website at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/ expenditure.asp. The Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credits were only paid to households with one or more working adults. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.
§ Mr. George OsborneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of(a) educational attainment, (b) skills gaps and (c) language barriers as causes of economic inactivity. [152937]
§ Ruth KellyThe Government have published an analysis of the extent and causes of inactivity and unemployment, and of the policies in place to address them, in "Full employment in every region" (HM Treasury/Department for Work and Pensions, December 2003), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
The Government's strategy to raise skill levels in the UK is set out in the White Paper "21st Century Skills—Realising our Potential" in July 2003 (Cm 5810).