The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letter from Glen Watson:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which sector of the economy made greatest use of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which information is available. (201281)

Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to identify them from a list of employment patterns. "Zero-hours contract" is listed and is described as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.

Further to this, in January 2014 the ONS undertook a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure. Results from this survey were published on 30 April 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/art-zero-hours.html

This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.

According to the LFS for the three-month period October to December 2013, there were an estimated 583,000 people on a zero-hours contract in the UK. For the ONS business survey, there were 1.4 million employee contracts that did not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period of the fortnight beginning 20 January 2014. This is higher than the LFS figure for a number of reasons:

i. employers and employees will have differing perceptions and awareness about the types of employment contracts used;

ii. the employer survey will count employee contracts, not people, and will provide higher estimates (as one person can have more than one contract);

iii. employers in the business survey may report multiple contracts for each job;

iv. the questions asked of respondents differed slightly, with the business survey asking about contracts not guaranteeing any hours, while the LFS question uses the term “zero-hours contracts”;

v. the LFS includes all people in employment (including the self-employed) while the business survey only includes employees.

As for the original question, information on contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours is available from an ONS survey of businesses carried out in January 2014. Information is not available for earlier years. The business survey showed that the industry which made greatest use of these contracts was Accommodation and Food Services for each of the following measures:

proportion of businesses using these contracts (45 per cent);

number of contracts (358,000); and

proportion of workforce on these contracts (19 per cent).

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

Letter from Neil Wooding, dated June 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts in Bolton North East constituency. (200973)

Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to identify them from a list of employment patterns. "Zero-hours contract" is listed and is described as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the data at constituency level. It is only the LFS that enables a breakdown by geography. However, the LFS sample size is not large enough to reliably support estimates of the number of people on zero-hours contracts by constituency.

In January 2014 ONS undertook a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure. Results from this survey were published on 30 April 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/art-zero-hours.html

This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.

According to the LFS for the three-month period October to December 2013, there were an estimated 583,000 people on a zero-hours contract in the UK. For the ONS business survey, there were 1.4 million employee contracts that did not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period of the fortnight beginning 20 January 2014. This is higher than the LFS figure for a number of reasons:

i. employers and employees will have differing perceptions and awareness about the types of employment contracts used;

ii. the employer survey will count employee contracts, not people, and win provide higher estimates (as one person can have more than one contract);

iii. employers in the business survey may report multiple contracts for each job;

iv. the questions asked of respondents differed slightly, with the business survey asking about contracts not guaranteeing any hours, while the LFS question uses the term “zero-hours contracts”;

v. the LFS includes all people in employment (including the self-employed) while the business survey only includes employees.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the ethnic breakdown of workers on zero hour contracts. (199997)

Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to identify them from a list of employment patterns. "Zero-hours contract" is listed and is described as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.

Further to this, in January 2014 the ONS undertook a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure. Results from this survey were published on 30 April 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/art-zero-hours.html

This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.

According to the LFS for the three-month period October to December 2013, there were an estimated 583,000 people on a zero-hours contract in the UK. For the ONS business survey, there were 1.4 million employee contracts that did not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period of the fortnight beginning 20 January 2014. This is higher than the LFS figure for a number of reasons:

i. employers and employees will have differing perceptions and awareness about the types of employment contracts used;

ii. the employer survey will count employee contracts, not people, and will provide higher estimates (as one person can have more than one contract);

iii. employers in the business survey may report multiple contracts for each job;

iv. the questions asked of respondents differed slightly, with the business survey asking about contracts not guaranteeing any hours, while the LFS question uses the term “zero-hours contracts”;

v. the LFS includes all people in employment (including the self-employed) while the business survey only includes employees.

As for the original question, it is only the LFS that enables a breakdown by ethnicity.

However, the LFS sample size is not large enough to reliably support estimates of the number of people on zero hours contracts by each individual ethnic group. It can be estimated though that, for October to December 2013 (the latest period for which data are available), of the 583,000 total number of people on zero hours contracts, 510,000 (87%) were white and 71,000 (12%) were non-white. No ethnic group was recorded for about 2,000 people.

Published estimates for the same period covering total employment by ethnicity show a similar proportional breakdown of 90% and 10% for whites and non-whites, respectively.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. It is estimated that the true value for the total number of people on zero-hours contracts is likely to be within 10 per cent of the estimate given. This also applies to the estimate for the white ethnic group. For the non-white ethnic group the true value is likely to be within 30 per cent of the estimate given.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated April 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what estimate he has made of the number of people who are (a) employed on zero-hours contracts and (b) paid at a rate below that defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in Warrington North constituency. (197165).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

Employed on zero-hours contracts

An estimate of the number employed on zero-hours contracts cannot be provided for Warrington North constituency.

Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), but not the APS. Questions on zero-hours contracts are not asked to all respondents of the APS, so are therefore not available from this source. From the LFS, estimates cannot be provided at constituency level, for quality reasons, due to small sample sizes.

As the LFS is a survey of people resident in households, ONS announced on 23 August 2013 that it would additionally undertake a survey of businesses to obtain an employer- based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure, as in the following link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/ons-announces-additional-estimate-of-zero-hourscontracts/zhc0813.html

Results from the ONS business survey were published on 30 April 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/artzero-hours.html

This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.

However, estimates cannot be provided at constituency level from the business survey, as sufficient information is not available.

Living wage

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. It is not possible to estimate the number of people with earnings below specified thresholds, though it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.

In April 2013, the latest period for which results are available, the Living Wage rates suggested by the Living Wage Foundation were £8.55 for employees who worked in London and £7.45 for employees who did not work in London. At this time, the proportion of jobs in Warrington North constituency with hourly earnings excluding overtime below £7.45 was 19.9%.**

Guide to quality:

The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, 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 50% with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 45% to 55%. This is given by 50% +/- ({2*.05}*50).

Key:

* CV > 5% and <= 10%

** CV > 10% and <= 20%

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

Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated April 2014:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills holds on the number of individuals employed on zero-hours contracts by (a) region and (b) gender; and what research the Department has commissioned on that matter. (195252)

Current estimates of the number of people on zero hours contracts are based on responses to a question on the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS). While the LFS is the largest continuous household survey conducted in the UK, this question depends on employees knowing and correctly reporting their terms of employment. These estimates can be found in the following link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedom-of-information/what-can-i-request/published-ad-hoc-data/labour/march-2014/zero-hours-analysis.xls

To improve the estimate of the number of people employed on zero hours contracts, ONS is conducting a survey of businesses, as they will be better placed to respond about employees' contractual arrangements. ONS announced this development in a news release published on 22 August 2013:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/ons-announces-additional-estimate-of-zero-hours-contracts/zhc0813.html

The first results from this survey will be available at end April 2014. These estimates will be accompanied by an analytical article that will also incorporate LFS based estimates, in order to present a more complete view of zero hours contracts.

As this article will provide a more comprehensive picture of the overall issue of zero hours, including statistics from both surveys, and consideration of the definitional aspects of zero hours contracts, it will be a much more robust and reliable source of the information you have requested.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking what steps he is taking to ensure the accuracy of the figures for zero-hour contracts in the Labour Force Survey. (193442)

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) information on zero-hours contracts currently comes from a question regarding flexible working. People in employment are asked what variable working arrangements, if any, they have and to select from a list which has “zero-hours contract” as an option. The results from the LFS therefore depend on respondents recognising correctly their employment contract type.

To address this ONS is currently working to produce an employer based estimate of the number of jobs where the contract does not guarantee a minimum number of hours (sometimes referred to as “zero-hour contracts”). This will provide a robust estimate of the number of jobs with this type of contract.

At end April 2014 ONS plans to produce a comprehensive report, bringing together estimates from the employer based survey alongside data from the LFS, and considering the definitional differences that exist.

Alongside this ONS is also developing and testing new questions for the Labour Force Survey regarding the guaranteed contracted hours of employees, which will identify those who have no guaranteed hours. If testing is successful, the new questions will be introduced to the LFS from January 2015, as this is the month when annual changes are made to the LFS questionnaire.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the estimate of the number of people in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West who have jobs which primarily require working (i) during the day and (ii) at night. (192413)

Estimates of employment are derived the Labour Force Survey (LFS). During the survey, people who are identified as being in employment are asked about their regular pattern of work and whether it is usual for them to work (i) during the day, (ii) during the evening and (iii) at night. Respondents can say “yes” to any categories that apply. For those working 'during the evening' these hours are commonly between 15:00 and 24:00 and ‘at night’ they are commonly between 18:00 and 06:00. Therefore in some instances respondents may work both evenings and nights.

Estimates derived from this question are available for the North West and Lancashire. However, estimates for the Pendle parliamentary constituency is not available because the limited size of the LFS sample means that they are not of sufficient quality. The available estimates are given in the table along with the employment total to provide context.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the estimate of the number in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber who have jobs which primarily require working (i) during the day and (ii) at night. (192966)

Estimates of employment are derived the Labour Force Survey (LFS). During the survey, people who are identified as being in employment are asked about their regular pattern of work and whether it is usual for them to work (i) during the day, (ii) during the evening and (iii) at night. Respondents can say "yes" to any categories that apply. For those working 'during the evening' these hours are commonly between 15:00 and 24:00 and 'at night'

they are commonly between 18:00 and 06:00. Therefore in some instances respondents may work both evenings and nights.

Estimates derived from this question are available for the Yorkshire and the Humber. However, estimates for the Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency are not available because the limited size of the LFS sample means that they are not of sufficient quality. The available estimates are given in the attached table along with the employment total to provide context.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what recent estimate he has made of the number of children living in households in Wrexham constituency where one or both parents are (a) working part-time because they are unable to find full-time work and (b) employed on a zero-hours contract. (191112)

The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics for people working in part-time jobs because they could not find a full time post from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). However, estimates of the number of children living in households where one or both parents are working part-time because they are unable to find full-time work for the requested geography is not available due to small sample sizes.

Estimates relating to zero-hour contracts are also available from the LFS; however, full estimates of the total number of people in employment on such contracts are not available from this source. This is, in part, due to reporting error as respondents may fail to identify their type of employment contract correctly. Therefore we have not been able to state how many children are living in households where one or both parents are working on zero hour contracts in Wrexham constituency.

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate has been made of the number of children living in households where one or both parents are (a) working part-time because they are unable to find full-time work and (b) employed on a zero hours contract (186513).

The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics for people working in part-time jobs because they could not find a full time post from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Using this survey we have been able to calculate the number of children living in families where one or both parents were working in part-time jobs because they could not find full-time posts. This number is supplied in the attached table. Please note, as with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Estimates relating to zero-hour contracts are also available from the LFS; however, full estimates of the total number of people in employment on such contracts are not available from this source. This is, in part, due to reporting error as respondents may fail to identify their type of employment contract correctly. Therefore we have not been able to state how many children are living in families where one or both parents are working on zero hour contracts.