§ Mr. David Huntasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many surveys, questionnaires, censuses or similar investigations have been carried out, either wholly or partly, at public expense, on behalf of or by his Department or by any public bodies for which he is responsible in 1974, 1975 and in 1976 to date, respectively, specifying their nature and purpose and the total cost to public funds.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThree surveys, two quarterly and one annual, are carried out regularly by the Board of Inland Revenue, requesting information which is supplied voluntarily by the general public. They are (a) a quarterly enquiry into pay and tax, in which a panel of employers give estimates of the total wages and salaries paid in the preceding quarter and of the PAYE tax deducted; (b) a quarterly enquiry into company profits, in which a panel of large companies provide estimates of their gross trading profits in the preceding quarter; (c) an annual enquiry in January of each year in which a representative selection of businesses provide estimates of their gross trading profits in their latest complete accounting period.
The results of these enquiries are used in the provision of quarterly and annual estimates of wages and salaries and company profits for national income purposes, and in the estimation of tax due thereon for the purpose of budgetary forecasting. The total cost to public funds of these three surveys in the last three years is estimated at £20,000 for 1974, £29,000 for 1975 and £37,000 for 1976.
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise carried out a survey by means of a questionnaire in 1975 to assist in a review of methods of presentation of external trade statistics. The estimated cost was £230.