§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how he intends to improve the statistical and data-gathering functions of the Welsh Office, with special reference to those areas for which his Department has specific responsibility. [22994]
§ Mr. HagueThe statistical and data-gathering activities of the Welsh Office support research and decision making within the Department and beyond. These activities will continue to be developed, with an emphasis on meeting the specific needs of users of statistics while keeping the burden of form filling to a minimum. A new publication series, the "Digest of Welsh Local Area Statistics", providing statistics for the new local authority areas, has just been introduced.