Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the latest employment activity rates for (1) each region of England, (2) England, (3) Wales, (4) Scotland, and (5) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
I will deposit a copy of the dataset for employment activity rates for each region of England, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in the House Libraries.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
21 December 2023
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the latest employment activity rates for (1) each region of England (2) England (3) Wales, (4) Scotland, and (5) Northern Ireland (HL1373).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on respondents’ labour market status as part of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK.
The economic activity rate is the proportion of the UK population aged 16-64 years who are engaged with the labour market, either through employment or searching for work while unemployed. The employment rate is the proportion of the UK population aged 16 to 64 years who are employed.
The latest LFS estimates available are for the period April to June 2023. Due to increased uncertainty in LFS estimates from May to July 2023, the latest LFS estimates are not being released. To give users a more considered view of the labour market, we have applied growth rates from administrative data (HMRC PAYE RTI (Pay As You Earn Real Time Information) for employment and Claimant Count for unemployment) to April to June 2023 LFS data to produce adjusted employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity estimates.
Table 1 shows estimates of economic activity and employment rates using LFS data from March to May 1992 to April to June 2023, and experimental adjusted estimates from May to July 2023 to August to October 2023.
As the data are quite extensive, a copy of Table 1 has been placed in the House of Lords Library.
Yours sincerely,
Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the latest annual figures for gross value added per head of population for (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
11 December 2023
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the latest annual figures for gross value added per head of population for (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland (HL898).
The latest available annual figures are for the calendar year 2021, published on 25 April 2023 as part of the regional economic activity by gross domestic product UK: 1998 to 2021 [1] release. Although the headline statistics in this release focus on gross domestic product (GDP), the published tables also include gross value added (GVA) estimates, which differ from GDP only in that they exclude the effect of taxes (less subsidies) on products.
The GVA per head figures you have requested are as follows:
(1) England, £31,138 per person
(2) Wales, £22,380 per person
(3) Scotland, £27,361 per person
(4) Northern Ireland, £24,007 per person
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to require all providers of public services (whether the provider is a public body or in the private sector), to provide a facility, whenever they email customers or potential customers, for that email to be answered by email and not to prevent a response with a "no-reply" communication address.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office is not aware of any plans to introduce legislation preventing departments from responding with a "no reply" email.
Each department is responsible for deciding how it communicates with members of the public by email.
Some departments may wish to send emails from a "no reply" email address to ensure that follow up emails are sent through the correct routes and handled consistently and effectively. However, all departments will either have an email address or a contact form that can be accessed on GOV.UK for members of the public.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many UK citizens emigrated in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
11 July 2023
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of how many UK citizens emigrated in each of the last five years for which figures are available (HL9085).
The figures for British nationals emigrating out of the UK for the last five years are shown in Table 1 which is sourced from Figure 2 of our Long-term international migration, provisional: year ending December 2022 bulletin [1] which was released in May.
Table 1: Number of British nationals emigrating out of the UK, between 2018 and 2022
Period | British |
YE Dec 2018 | 94,000 |
YE Dec 2019 | 98,000 |
YE Dec 2020 | 59,000 |
YE Dec 2021 | 76,000 |
YE Dec 2022 | 92,000 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
Please note that these are currently our best estimates but are subject to change. This is because in September 2023 we will be updating our migration estimates across the previous decade as part of rebased population estimates to align with Census 2021. For more information, please see our Provisional plans for publishing the latest population and migration estimates [2].
When accessing any of our files you may find it useful to read the 'notes, terms and conditions' contained within them.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average income per head in the latest financial year for which figures are available was in each of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the regions of England.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 10th May is attached in the answer.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
17 May 2023
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average income per head in the latest financial year for which figures are available was in each of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the regions of England (HL7765).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce average income per head estimates of this nature. However, the Effects of Taxes and Benefits on UK Household Income is routinely produced at household-level, in line with international recommendations [1]. This is done so under the assumption that household income is the optimum measure of economic well-being and living standards on individuals given the likelihood that household members share resources.
Table 1 provides UK household disposable income at the International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) for financial year ending 2021. A more detailed breakdown of income components is available at the ITL1 region is available as part of the ONS’ annual release of Effect of Taxes and Benefits on UK Household Income [2]. Published data currently covers up to financial year ending 2021, with financial year ending 2022 provisionally scheduled for June 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://unece.org/statistics/publications/canberra-group-handbook-household-income-statistics-2ndedition
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwea lth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/financialyearending2021/relateddata
Table 1: Average household disposable income by Region, financial year ending 2021, UK
Region | Disposable income (£) |
North East | 36,730 |
North West | 41,755 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 39,538 |
East Midlands | 45,489 |
West Midlands | 41,011 |
East | 48,011 |
London | 61,000 |
South East | 55,817 |
South West | 43,042 |
England | 47,734 |
Wales | 39,331 |
Scotland | 39,670 |
Northern Ireland | 40,198 |
All individuals | 46,473 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, Effects of Taxes and Benefits
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their target for answering written correspondence from the general public; and what percentage of answers met that target in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government places great importance on the effective and timely handling of correspondence, including from members of the public. The Cabinet Office currently aims to respond to correspondence from members of the public in 20 working days, in line with the guidance on handling correspondence.
The Cabinet Office has responded to: 48% of public correspondence received in 2019 within 20 working days, 82% of public correspondence received in 2020 within 20 working days, and 88% of public correspondence received between 1 January and 31 October 2021 within 20 working days.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that any decision to place a contract to procure (1) services, and (2) equipment, during the COVID-19 pandemic is not influenced by any individual involved in the procurement process having a personal connection to the company providing such services or equipment.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As we tackle this Covid-19 outbreak, Government contracts must be awarded efficiently and responsibly. Regulation 24 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Prime Minister met with the First Minister of Wales, either physically and virtually, between 1 June and 1 October.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
There has been extensive engagement between the UK Government and Welsh Government at all levels across many key policy areas. The Prime Minister and First Minister of Wales have had regular recent discussions, focused on the joint Covid-19 response. This includes a bilateral meeting on 21 September in addition to Ministerial COBR meetings.
Frequent engagement with the devolved administrations is led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster through calls with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First and deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, alongside the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the registered number of deaths of all causes between 1 March and the most recent available date; and what is the figure for deaths per 100,000 population this number represents for (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) Wales.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what was the registered number of deaths of all causes between 1 March and the most recent available date; and what is the figure for deaths per 100,000 population this number represents for (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) Wales (HL6919).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. The most recent annual figures published are for deaths registered in 20191. However, we do publish provisional weekly deaths registrations, which are currently published for deaths registered up to 3 July 20202. National Records Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Table 1 provides the registered number of deaths from all causes between 1 March 2020 and the most recent available weekly deaths data in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Table 2 provides the number of deaths registered and age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 persons using the most consistent date range possible. Table 2 covers deaths registered between 1 March 2020 and 3 July for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but between 1 March and 5 July for Scotland.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of deaths registered between 1 March and most recent weekly deaths date, by country of usual residence, United Kingdom[1][2][3][4]
Number of deaths | |||
England | Wales | Northern Ireland | Scotland |
224,398 | 13,601 | 6,227 | 29,728 |
Source: ONS
Table 2: Number of deaths registered and age-standardised mortality rates, between 1 March 2020 and 3 July 2020 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and between 1 March 2020 and 5 July 2020 for Scotland[5][6]
Country | Deaths | Rates |
England | 224,398 | 415.2 |
Wales | 13,601 | 409.5 |
Northern Ireland | 6,227 | 385.1 |
Scotland | 28,302 | 541.5 |
Source: ONS
[1]Figures are based on deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in the specified year.
[2]Geographic boundaries correct as of May 2020
[3]Deaths of non-residents of each country are excluded
[4]Deaths have been provided for the most up-to-date weekly data available. Deaths for residents of England and Wales are included up to week 27 (week ending 3 July 2020), for Northern Ireland up to week 26 (week ending 3 July 2020), and for Scotland up to week 28 (week ending 12 July 2020). Note: week numbers differ across the countries so dates have been provided for clarity.
[5] Deaths have been included for weeks that are most consistent across the 4 countries, to aid fair comparison. Deaths for residents of England and Wales are included up to week 27 (week ending 3 July 2020), for Northern Ireland up to week 26 (week ending 3 July 2020), and for Scotland up to week 27 (week ending 5 July 2020). Note: week numbers differ across the countries so dates have been provided for clarity
[6]Rates are age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) per 100,000 population, standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population. ASMRs are a better measure of mortality than the number of deaths, as they account for the population size and age structure. They are also better for comparing between areas and over time.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Prime Minister last spoke to the First Ministers of (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, and (3) Northern Ireland, in relation to actions being taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
There have been regular discussions between the UK government and Devolved Administrations throughout the crisis, including through the COBR committee and Ministerial Implementation Groups. This is in addition to regular official and ministerial engagement, including weekly calls led by the Secretary of State for Health.
As was the case under the previous administration, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster continues to lead engagement with the Devolved Administrations through regular calls with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First and deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland. The most recent call took place on 24 July.