§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Office of National Statistics uses to measure the productivity of education spending. [170727]
§ Ruth Kelly[holding answer 4 May 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
240WLetter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 7 June 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what measures the Office of National Statistics uses to measure the productivity of education spending. (170727)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published an indicative estimate of productivity change for government as a whole in an article in Economic Trends, July 2003. At present, this estimate does not meet all the criteria to be a National Statistic and was published as an experimental statistic rather than a regular series.
ONS has also stated that a productivity analysis would be published at function level as soon as the quality of the data warrant it. That point has not yet been reached. As a result, ONS does not yet publish a measure of education productivity.
ONS recognises that in recent years there have been increased demands on, and expectations of, measures of government output. The Atkinson Review was set up in December 2003 to advance methodologies in measuring government activities, including productivity. It is due to produce a preliminary report in July 2004 and a final report by January 2005.