Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming universal credit; and what the unemployment rate is in Knowsley constituency as of 29 April 2020.

The information requested on Universal Credit is not readily available at constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Statistics on employment and unemployment at Parliamentary Constituency level are estimated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using the Annual Population Survey (APS).

The latest available data on unemployment in Knowsley constituency covers the period January 2019-December 2019, when the unemployment rate was estimated at 2.2%. However, the ONS consider this estimate highly uncertain as it is based on a very small sample. A less uncertain estimate exists for Knowlsey Local Authority District which is 2.9% (with the true level between 1.5% and 4.3%).

The first dataset containing information on the requested period for April 2020 will be published by the ONS in autumn 2020.