§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 27 February,Official Report, column 389, if he will list those categories of data collected by the Office of National Statistics which are based on postcode areas. [19629]
§ Mrs. Angela Knight[holding answer 12 March 1997]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Harry Barnes, dated 18 March 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to your recent Question on categories of data collected by the ONS which are based on postcode areas.550WAll data collected by ONS use post code reference systems where representative geographical samples are necessary and for the purposes of any geographical analysis. However local area data can only be provided to the extent that they are of sufficient quality and do not breach confidentiality obligations.