§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many extra staff he expects to employ in order to conduct the 1981 national census.
§ Sir George YoungFor the census in England and Wales, some 118,000 extra staff will be needed, of whom 116,000 will be temporarily employed fee-paid field staff. The other 2,000 will be employed at headquarters and regional offices, and some 1,500 of these will be data-processing staff taken on for periods of around eight months.
The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is working closely with the Manpower Services Commission in recruiting people without jobs to fill the temporary posts wherever practicable.
§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated cost to public funds of the 1981 national census; and how this compares with the expenditure on the 1971 census.
§ Sir George YoungFor the census in England and Wales, the estimated cost is £38 million at November 1978 prices. The Government undertook a thorough review of the expenditure that had been proposed for the 1981 census and made savings of 17 per cent. As a result, real costs will be at a similar level to the 1971 census. Precise comparisons are difficult to make because expenditure is spread over a number of years.