§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many questionnaires requesting information from firms with up to a £1 million turnover have been discontinued since 3 May 1979 and how many new ones introduced; and how many different ones are sent out at present.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1980, c. 422–23]: The vast majority of administrative questionnaires sent out to firms by the Department of Employment group relate to specific requests for information on behalf of members of the public, for example about entitlement to unemployment benefit or about jobs and training opportunities. The number of such inquiries is not held either centrally or locally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A review of administrative procedures and their associated forms was carried out last year with the object of reducing the burden of form filling on employers and particularly small firms, and recommendations for simplification are being implemented.
With regard to statistical questionnaires, as a result of reductions in three statistical surveys and the discontinuation of one, the number of such questionnaires to be completed by employers since 3 May 1979 has been reduced by over 1 million, a substantial proportion of which would have been sent to firms with a turnover of less than £1 million. No 93W new regular survey has been introduced since 3 May 1979.
There are currently nine regular surveys conducted by the Department of Employment which are likely to involve firms with less than £1 million turnover. These surveys will account for a total of about 600,000 questionnaires issued in 1980. The proportion of these sent to firms with less than £1 million turnover is not known.