To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of people in Tamworth were self-employed in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (173441)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 11 December 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what percentage of people in Tamworth were self-employed in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (173441)

The Office for National Statistics compiles employment statistics for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.

The table attached shows numbers of self-employed people, and these numbers as the percentage of all employed persons, in the Tamworth constituency, for the 12 month periods ending in February from 1998 to 2004 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March from 2005 to 2007 from the APS.

Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. Changes over time should be treated with particular caution.