Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 November 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 November 2001. It was answered by Ruth Kelly (Labour) on Monday, 12 November 2001 on behalf of the Office for National Statistics.

Treasury;Office for National Statistics

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the level of unemployment was in the Buckingham constituency in (a) September 2000 and (b) September 2001. - Inc text of letter from Len Cook of ONS dated 12 November 2001 and figures.

Answer: Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in the Buckingham constituency in (a) September 2000 and (b) September 2001. [14204] 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. John Bercow, dated 12 November 2001: As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question concerning the level of unemployment in the Buckingham constituency in September 2000 and September 2001. (14202) The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for unemployment from surveys following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definition. However, for the Buckingham parliamentary constituency the survey sample size is too small to provide estimates. ONS also compiles statistics 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. Between September 2000 and September 2001 the claimant count level in the Buckingham parliamentary constituency rose by 25 from 354 to 379.

Secondary information