To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 24 and under in (a) total and (b) each Government office region have been unemployed for over a year in each of the last 20 years.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged 24 and under in (a) total and (b) each Government office region have been unemployed for over a year in each of the last 20 years. 182556

The table provides estimates for the number of 16 to 24 year olds who have been unemployed for 12 months or more by region and country of the UK. Estimates for the period 2005 to 2013 have been produced from the July to June Annual Population Survey (APS) with the earlier periods based upon a 4 quarter average from the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS). This is consistent with the preferred presentation of statistics of regional unemployment by age and duration as used in the Regional Labour Market Statistical Bulletins.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS and LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated by the guide to quality in the table.

A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.