Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve the (a) collection and (b) availability of information on (i) economic inactivity and (ii) its causes.
Data on economic inactivity and its causes is collected for Scotland by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS).
The Scottish Government publishes its own analysis on economic inactivity in Scotland based on the ONS LFS and APS data. The most recent publication including this data is the Labour Market Trends: November 2024 publication. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/labour-market-trends-november-2024/
The Scottish Government also recently published an evidence review on Economic Inactivity in Scotland: Supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active. The report can be found here: Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The Scottish Government are working with Welsh and Northern Irish Governments and our colleagues in ONS to better understand and to guide improvements in the collection of this data.