§ 34. Mr. Ginsburgasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he is taking to strengthen the statistical staff of his Department.
§ Mr. BrookeThere is no need to strengthen my present statistical staff.
§ Mr. GinsburgWould the Minister look again at the Report of the Social Survey? Will he, in particular, reread page 21 of the Report, which contains serious criticism of the inaccuracy and inadequacy of his Ministry's statistics?
§ Mr. BrookeNo, Sir. The 1956 estimates made by my Department showed that 5½ per cent. of all houses in the country came into a certain category. The 1959 sample survey showed that it was not 5½ per cent. but 24¾ per cent. The 25 explanation is that those who did the 1956 investigation underestimated the extent to which houses with a single rating assessment were in divided occupation and also underestimated the extent to which owner-occupation had grown under a Conservative Government.