§ Mr. David Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether questionnaires completed for the Business Statistics Office are checked against value-added tax returns.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe Business Statistics Office does not have access to value added tax returns. Under section 55 of the 1973 Finance Act, it receives limited information derived from the administration of value added tax to compile registers for statistical inquiries. This information—essentially name and address, legal status, trade classification and turnover—has enabled the Business Statistics Office to extend the use of sampling and to reduce substantially the form-filling burden on small firms. No figures of turnover are passed to Her Majesty's Cus- toms688W toms and Excise for use in the administration of value added tax.