HC Deb 07 March 1977 vol 927 cc395-6W
Mr. Lawrence

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were employed in the roadside census teams concerned with post codes; what criteria there were for their employment; and how many of them would otherwise have been on unemployment registers.

Mr. Horam

About 1,100 one-day roadside surveys were carried out over a period of 13 weeks and the total numbers of persons employed at the census points varied between 250 and 600 per day over this period. The criteria for the employment of interviewers were those for general clerical work and the ability to work on the roadside in all weather conditions. Their suitability for the work was assessed by the transportation consultants appointed by the Secretary of State to manage the surveys.

The census sites covered the whole of England and the interview teams were recruited on a short-term basis from the particular localities where the surveys were carried out. My right hon. Friend has no information about the number of different persons employed. They were either on the unemployment registers or were casual or part-time workers. My right hon. Friend has no means of knowing how many would otherwise have remained on the registers.