The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 31 January 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number of workless households in a) Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency and b) the London Borough of Bexley in each year since 1997. (178669)
The attached table gives the number of workless working-age households for Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency and the London Borough of Bexley, for the three months ending in June. Information for Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency is only available for 1999 and 2001-2007. Information for London Borough of Bexley is only available for 1997, 1999 and 2001-2007. The figures in the table are estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
A household is defined as a single person, or a group of people living at the same address who have the address as their only main residence and either share one main meal a day or share the living accommodation (or both). A workless working-age household is one that includes at least one person of working age and in which no-one aged 16 or over is in employment.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Thousand Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency London borough of Bexley 1997 3— 7 1998 3— 3— 1999 4 8 2000 3— 3— 2001 3 9 2002 3 9 2003 2 6 2004 4 7 2005 2 6 2006 3 10 2007 4 10 1 A workless household is a household with at least one person of working age (male aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59), and in which no one aged 16 or over is in employment. 2 Figures have not been adjusted to include estimates for households with unknown economic activity. 3 Comparable estimates are not currently available Note: As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin or uncertainty. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey