§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the reasons are for the Office for National Statistics five-year survey of companies' fixed assets; [95917]
839W(2) how many companies in (a) manufacturing and (b) food-processing industries have been sent questionnaires by the Office for National Statistics requesting details of their fixed assets; and what is his estimate of the total compliance cost involved. [95916]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated 26 October 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary questions on companies' fixed assets.The new Fixed Assets Survey to collect details of capital stocks held by businesses is one of a number of measures introduced to improve the quality of the National Accounts. The survey was introduced in 1999 to provide a more reliable basis for calculating the value of fixed assets held in the UK, required for the National Accounts. It will cover all industries in a rolling programme so that each industry is surveyed only once in about five years.The questionnaire requesting details of fixed assets was sent to a sample of 264 companies in manufacturing, of which 257 were in the food processing industry. The estimate of the total compliance cost for these industries is£19,000.