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Retirement: Yorkshire and the Humber

Volume 481: debated on Tuesday 28 October 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who wish to work beyond retirement age in (a) Leeds West constituency, (b) the Leeds City area and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside region in each year since 1997. (228292)

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated October 2008:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of people who wish to work beyond retirement age in (a) Leeds West, (b) the Leeds City area and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside region in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (228292)

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

Estimates are provided for the number of people over statutory pension age (males aged 65 and over, females aged 60 and over) who stated they were available to work when surveyed. A respondent is classified as being available to work if they are unemployed and available to work, or employed.

Table 1, attached, shows the number of persons in employment and unemployment over statutory pension age in Leeds West, Leeds and the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The estimates from 1998 to 2004 are for the 12 month period ending February that year and taken from the annual LFS. Figures for 2005 to 2008 are for the 12 month period ending March that year and taken from the APS.

As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of people who are available to work1 beyond statutory pension age in (a) Leeds West, (b) Leeds and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1997.

Thousand

12 months ending

Leeds West

Leeds

Yorkshire and the Humber

February 1998

1

11

53

February 1999

2

11

54

February 2000

2

10

54

February 2001

1

9

62

February 2002

1

10

59

February 2003

1

13

68

February 2004

1

14

73

March 2005

1

12

69

March 2006

2

10

74

March 2007

2

13

83

March 20083

42

414

490

1 The number of people available to work is defined as those who responded either as being in employment or unemployed.

2 Data are not available.

3 Coefficients of variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See 4 as follows.

4 Guide to Quality:

The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.

Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness

* 0 = CV < 5 Estimates are considered precise

** 5 = CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise

*** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable

**** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.

Source:

Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey.