§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how many surveys have been handled by the Statistical Office at Newport to date in 1978; and how many were handled in 1977;
(2) how many surveys are currently being handled by the Statistical Office at Newport; how many of them relate to industry; and how this compares with the position 12 months ago.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe Business Statistics Office has carried out 21 surveys so far in 1978, that is two more than in 1977. No additional surveys will be conducted during the remainder of this year.
The number of forms despatched, however, is likely to be about 440,000 in 1978, compared with 472,000 in 1977 and 546,000 in 1976. 936,000 were despatched in 1972.
Details of the activities of the Business Statistics Office and of the surveys it conducts are given in the "Business Statistics Office: Report for 1977" which is available in the Library.