HC Deb 14 March 1989 vol 149 cc139-41W
Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the questions that were asked in the recent Scottish Office telephone survey.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 8 March 1989]: The interview schedule contained questions about respondents' experience of a number of crimes, including car theft, bicycle theft, theft from vehicles, vandalism to vehicles, housebreaking, robbery, sexual offences and assault. Questions were also asked about fear of crime and household security.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether surveys similar to the recent telephone survey by the Scottish Office have been conducted under its auspices in the past.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 8 March 1989]: The questions asked in this survey are very similar to those used in the British crime surveys of 1982 and 1988.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how people who took part in the recent Scottish Office telephone survey were chosen.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 8 March 1989]: A random sample was obtained by means of computer-generated telephone calls.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the purpose of the recent telephone survey by his Department.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 8 March 1989]: The survey in Scotland was part of an international exercise involving 15 countries mainly from the European Community but also including the United States of America, Canada and Australia. The survey used tightly standardised methods in order to obtain comparative information on the nature and scale of victimisation and other criminal justice information across the various participating countries.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the recent telephone survey conducted by his Department.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 8 March 1989]: My Department's central research unit, which acted as co-ordinator for the survey in Scotland, received about 30 telephone calls and one letter from the public. For the most part the callers sought only to confirm the bona fide nature of the survey though a number voiced specific concerns and complaints mainly related to the household security questions. Two of the calls related to the question about sexual assault.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether the people who carried out the recent Scottish Office telephone survey had received any formal training in counselling techniques;

(2) what qualifications the people who carried out the recent Scottish Office telephone survey had.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 9 March 1989]:

The staff of the survey firms which conducted the survey are experienced in the use of telephone interviews for research purposes. The interviewers were given introductory training for the special needs of this survey which paid particular attention to the sensitive nature of many of the topics included in the questionnaire.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the findings of the recent Scottish Office telephone survey will be published in full.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 9 March 1989]: A report on the results of the survey is to be published later this year.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps were taken to ensure that respondents to the recent Scottish Office telephone survey were made aware of the voluntary nature of the survey.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 9 March 1989]: The introduction to the questionnaire used by all survey interviewers offered the respondent a number of opportunities to decline to participate before commencing the interview. At this stage, also, respondents were given the opportunity to verify the authenticity of the survey. This could be done by telephoning the liaison contact in the Scottish Office or the free telephone number of the Market Survey Society. That this was effective was demonstrated by the fact that, to achieve a sample of 2,000, approximately 4,000 calls had to be made. One person in two approached declined to participate. Those who participated were, of course, free to put down the telephone at any point.

Mrs. Ray Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps were taken to protect the confidentiality of respondents to the recent Scottish Office telephone survey.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

[holding answer 9 March 1989]: Confidentiality was a principal factor in the decision to use computer-generated telephone interviewing. This technique offers greater confidentiality than the more usual doorstep interviews since neither the name nor address of the respondent is known to the interviewer. This was explained by the interviewers to potential respondents before seeking their agreement to participate.