§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Employment why the April 1980 "New Earnings Survey" included earnings figures for non-industrial civil servants which did not apply until 7 May 1980, treating the Civil Service in a different way from almost all other groups surveyed.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe professional judgment of the statisticians carrying out the survey was that, as the formal date of the settlement had not been changed and payment was deferred for only a short period, continuity of this series over time would be best maintained by keeping to the usual practice of including the effects of this settlement in the survey of the same year. This was clearly indicated in the published results.