I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ 4936 in which I give details, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), of the number of people whose usual weekly hours are less than six hours, and between 6 and 15 hours. Details are not available for the number of people working less than 16 hours who wanted to work more in each of the last 10 years.<\/p>
<\/p>
ONS does publish some related data: 1) the number of people in employment who want to work more hours, are available for work and are currently working below the hours threshold (40 hours a week for those under 18, 48 hours a week for those aged 18 or over), and 2) people working part-time who gave the reason as \u201ccould not find full-time job\u201d as reason for working part-time. The tables below give extracts from the ONS published data, however, both these data series will include both those working less than, and more than, 16 hours a week.<\/p>
<\/p>
Table 1: The number of people in employment who want to work more hours, are available for work and are currently working below the hours threshold<\/strong><\/p> <\/p> Date<\/p><\/td> Level<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2010<\/p><\/td> 2,754<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2011<\/p><\/td> 2,841<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2012<\/p><\/td> 3,061<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2013<\/p><\/td> 3,090<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2014<\/p><\/td> 2,977<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2015<\/p><\/td> 2,786<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2016<\/p><\/td> 2,601<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2017<\/p><\/td> 2,460<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2018<\/p><\/td> 2,390<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2019<\/p><\/td> 2,479<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> Source: Table EMP16, ONS, Labour Force Survey<\/p> <\/p> Table 2: Part-time workers who gave the reason as \u201ccould not find full-time job\u201d as reason for working part-time<\/strong><\/p> Date<\/p><\/td> Level<\/p><\/td> % of all Part Time Employed<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2010<\/p><\/td> 1,084<\/p><\/td> 14.0<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2011<\/p><\/td> 1,275<\/p><\/td> 16.2<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2012<\/p><\/td> 1,438<\/p><\/td> 17.9<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2013<\/p><\/td> 1,467<\/p><\/td> 18.3<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2014<\/p><\/td> 1,347<\/p><\/td> 16.5<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2015<\/p><\/td> 1,285<\/p><\/td> 15.7<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2016<\/p><\/td> 1,149<\/p><\/td> 13.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2017<\/p><\/td> 1,019<\/p><\/td> 12.1<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2018<\/p><\/td> 968<\/p><\/td> 11.5<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2019<\/p><\/td> 907<\/p><\/td> 10.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> Source: Table EMP01NSA, ONS, Labour Force Survey<\/p> <\/p> At UK level people in full-time work have made up over three quarters of the overall increase in employment since 2010.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4513", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mims Davies"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eastleigh"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mims Davies"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-11-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-11-04T18:07:40.27Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Part-Time Employment"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people working less than 16 hours who wanted to work more in each of the last 10 years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/534", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Ruane"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Vale of Clwyd"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Ruane"}
], "uin" : "7645"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1167098", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1167098/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Hardship payments provide financial protection for claimants whose benefit is reduced by a Fraud Loss of Benefit penalty or a Benefit Sanction.<\/p> <\/p> For a) and b), the information requested is not readily available at a country or constituency level and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.<\/p> <\/p> For c) the requested data is provided for Great Britain in the following two tables for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) respectively. Please note, figures supplied are derived from data which has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standard. These results can change retrospectively as further information is received. They should therefore be treated with caution. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.<\/p> <\/p> JSA - Number of hardship payments awarded as a result of a sanction<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/p><\/td> 2016<\/p><\/td> 2017<\/p><\/td> 2018<\/p><\/td> 2019 (year to Aug 19)<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 120,000<\/p><\/td> 58,000<\/p><\/td> 29,000<\/p><\/td> 10,000<\/p><\/td> Fewer than 1,000<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> ESA - Number of hardship payments awarded as a result of a sanction<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/p><\/td> 2016<\/p><\/td> 2017<\/p><\/td> 2018<\/p><\/td> 2019 (year to Aug 19)<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 4,000<\/p><\/td> 2,000<\/p><\/td> 1,000<\/p><\/td> Fewer than 1,000<\/p><\/td> Fewer than 1,000<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> For Universal Credit, the data cannot be disaggregated to identify the hardship payments that have been directly attributed to the application of a benefit sanction from those resulting from a fraud penalty.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4513", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mims Davies"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eastleigh"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mims Davies"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-11-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-11-04T18:04:16.877Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits: Disqualifications"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of hardship payments made by her Department which have been directly attributed to the imposition of benefit sanctions in (a) Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in each of the last four years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/534", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Ruane"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Vale of Clwyd"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Ruane"}
], "uin" : "7077"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1156208", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1156208/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " In February-April 2010 there were 9.5 million economically inactive people in the UK. This number has dropped to 8.7 million people for the period June-August 2019. These statistics are for the 16-64 age group, which is the Office for National Statistic\u2019s headline rate for economic inactivity.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4513", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mims Davies"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eastleigh"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mims Davies"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-29T16:34:09.55Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Unemployment"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were economically inactive in the UK in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/534", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Ruane"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Vale of Clwyd"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Ruane"}
], "uin" : "4934"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1156210", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1156210/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to provide estimates for the usual weekly hours of work for people. The table below sets out data ONS publishes on those working fewer than 6 hours, and between 6 and 15 hours. Breakdowns for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and regional breakdowns, are not provided because of small sample sizes. Estimates are based on the number of people who report the numbers of hours worked.<\/p> <\/p> Table: People working fewer than 6 hours, and 6 to 15 hours for April to June each year<\/strong><\/p> <\/p> <\/p><\/td> fewer than 6 Hours<\/p><\/td> 6 up to 15 hours<\/p><\/td><\/tr> <\/p><\/td> level (thousands)<\/p><\/td> % of total people in employment<\/p><\/td> level (thousands)<\/p><\/td> % of total people in employment<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2010<\/p><\/td> 417<\/p><\/td> 1.5<\/p><\/td> 2,011<\/p><\/td> 7.1<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2011<\/p><\/td> 473<\/p><\/td> 1.7<\/p><\/td> 1,959<\/p><\/td> 6.9<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2012<\/p><\/td> 469<\/p><\/td> 1.6<\/p><\/td> 2,034<\/p><\/td> 7.1<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2013<\/p><\/td> 445<\/p><\/td> 1.5<\/p><\/td> 2,033<\/p><\/td> 7.0<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2014<\/p><\/td> 463<\/p><\/td> 1.6<\/p><\/td> 2,034<\/p><\/td> 6.9<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2015<\/p><\/td> 487<\/p><\/td> 1.6<\/p><\/td> 1,899<\/p><\/td> 6.3<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2016<\/p><\/td> 474<\/p><\/td> 1.5<\/p><\/td> 2,058<\/p><\/td> 6.7<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2017<\/p><\/td> 424<\/p><\/td> 1.4<\/p><\/td> 2,048<\/p><\/td> 6.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2018<\/p><\/td> 426<\/p><\/td> 1.4<\/p><\/td> 2,043<\/p><\/td> 6.5<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-Jun 2019<\/p><\/td> 471<\/p><\/td> 1.5<\/p><\/td> 2,066<\/p><\/td> 6.5<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> Source: Table HOUR02NSA, ONS, Labour Force Survey<\/p> <\/p> At UK level people in full-time work have made up over three quarters of the overall increase in employment since 2010.<\/p> <\/p> The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) use the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to provide estimates for the number of people in employment on contracts that do not guarantee minimum hours (known as \u2018zero hours\u2019 contracts\u2019). This data is available for the Oct-Dec quarter only for each year from 2010 to 2018 and is set out in the table below.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Table: Level and rate of people aged 16 and over on zero-hours contracts October to December each year<\/p> <\/p> UK, not seasonally adjusted<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Percentage of people in employment on a zero-hours contract<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2010<\/p><\/td> 0.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2011<\/p><\/td> 0.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2012<\/p><\/td> 0.8<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2013<\/p><\/td> 1.9<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2014<\/p><\/td> 2.3<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/p><\/td> 2.5<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2016<\/p><\/td> 2.8<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2017<\/p><\/td> 2.8<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2018<\/p><\/td> 2.6<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Source: ONS Labour Force Survey<\/p><\/td><\/tr> The estimates for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 are considered precise<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> ONS advise that the increased media coverage of zero-hours\u2019 contracts arrangements in the latter half of 2013 may have affected the response to this question by raising awareness of this existing type of contractual arrangement. The ONS therefore advise not to compare pre- and post-2013 data.<\/p> <\/p> Data for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the English regions has been published every six months by ONS for since 2016. However, because the data is drawn from a survey, many of these sub-UK breakdowns are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Regional data and guidance on its reliability can be found in tab 4 of table EMP17 published here:<\/p>