Office of Population Censuses and Statistics

HC Deb 04 March 1994 vol 238 cc915-6W

Mr. Nigel Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what have been the running costs of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for the last 10 years for which figures are available; what type of projects it carries out; and how its work is monitored.

Mr. Sackville

Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' net running costs from 1984–85 to 1993–94 were:

Net running costs
Year	£ million
1984–85	22.4
1985–86	24.2
1986–87	24.8
1987–88	26.8
1988–89	20.3
1989–90	22.7
1990–91	36.8
1991–92	88.3
1992–93	24.1
1993–94	27.7

Notes:

1. 1. Running costs are net of receipts.
2. 2. For comparison purposes, superannuation, which became a vote cost from April 1993, has been excluded from all the figures. The amount involved is £3 million in 1993–94.
3. 3. Running costs decreased in 1988–89 due to the move to repayment for Social Surveys.
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4. 4. Running costs peaked 1991–92 because of expenditure on the 1991 Census.
5. 5. Final outturn figures are given for all years except 1993–94, for which the actual Vote provision is shown.

OPCS's main functions are:

• to administer the Marriage Acts and to direct and control the local registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales:
• to produce the estimates and projections of local and health authority populations which are used in allocating resources to them;
• to produce and publish statistics on population levels, on migration, on fertility and on abortions, mortality, morbidity and other health matters;
• to take the census of population in England and Wales; and to process, analyse and publish the resulting statistics;
• to conduct social surveys for Government Departments and public sector bodies and to give survey advice to Departments;
• to run the national health service central register for the Department of Health;
• assisting in the supply of statistics and statistical analysis for particular purposes, such as the nation's health;
• to provide secretarial and analytical support to the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England and Wales.

Further detail is given in OPCS's business plans and annual reports, copies of which will be placed in the Library. OPCS is a Government Department, and is accountable to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health in the normal way.