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Service Sector Companies: ONS Returns
Lord Willoughby de Broke asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Why the Office for National Statistics now requires monthly rather than quarterly returns from companies in the service sector; and whether this is consistent with the Government's stated aim of reducing the administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises. [HL1464]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter to Lord Willoughby de Broke from the National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics, Mr Len Cook, dated 5 April 2001.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on why the Office for National Statistics (ONS) now requires monthly rather than quarterly returns from companies in the service sector and whether this is consistent with the Government's stated aim of reducing the administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.[HL1464]
There is strong demand for users for more frequent and timely information on changes in the output of the service industry, which now represents two-thirds of the economy. To meet this demand, ONS is developing a monthly index of services which requires the collection of monthly data. This index will match the index of industrial production, which is also a monthly indicator.
The ONS is extremely conscious of its responsibility to bear down on the costs to business of complying with its surveys. Minimising the burden on suppliers of data is one of the ONS's five key values. The ONS produces, as part of its Business Plan, an Annual Compliance Plan which charts the compliance costs by inquiry; contains details of compliance reducing initiatives that are either being undertaken, or are in the pipeline; contains the compliance target for the current year and shows the profile of compliance costs over a four-year timescale.
Regular reviews of surveys are carried out to examine whether there is a continuing need for them. An integral part of the review process is to seek respondents' views and to ascertain whether changes
to either the forms or sample can be made which reduce the burden on respondents whilst at the same time maintaining the quality of data.Public Expenditure per Head Comparisons
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the total public expenditure by central government and its agencies, per 1,000 of population in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and each of the English regions in each of the last seven years; and what, on present projections, they estimate the expenditure will be in each of the next three years. [HL1601]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The latest available information on identifiable total managed expenditure per head by country and region was published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses on 3 April.
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: Entry into Force
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the currently expected date for N2, the coming into force of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; how many statutory instruments have to be passed before N2; and how many have so far been passed. [HL1543]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Economic Secretary announced on 15 March that N2 will be no later than the end of November 2001.
The Treasury expects to seek Parliament's approval before N2 to the exercise of around 80 powers contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, although these will be grouped into a smaller number of statutory instruments. A list of the powers was attached to a Treasury paper, Financial Services and Markets Act: The Way Ahead, published in August 2000. The paper is available in the Library of the House and on the Treasury's website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/legislation).
As at 3 April, 16 statutory instruments, including Commencement Orders, had been made.
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