§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if(a) the Family Expenditure Survey, (b) the Family Resources Survey, (c) the British Household Panel Survey, (d) the New Earnings Survey, (e) the General Household Survey and (f) the Social Attitudes Survey include samples from the area north and west of a line from Fort William to Inverness; if these surveys can be disaggregated to a Scottish level; and if he will increase the sample size of these surveys so that accurate statistics be produced for Scotland. [19154]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 8 December 1997]The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. John Swinney, dated 9 December 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to your recent question on the sampling arrangements for various surveys and the disaggregation of survey analyses to a Scottish level.As regards the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) and the General Household Survey (GHS), samples include the mainland part of Scotland north of the Caledonian Canal (i.e. line from Fort William to Inverness) but do not include the islands.The samples are designed to be representative of Scotland, minus the islands, and some analyses from these surveys are produced for Scotland. However, the sample sizes are not large enough to produce reliably all the analyses available for Great Britain.The New Earnings Survey (NES) is a 1% sample of employees in Great Britain who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) income tax schemes. The sample includes employees north of the Caledonian Canal. Results from the NES can be disaggregated to unitary authority level in Scotland.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is sponsored by the Department of Social Security. It does not include samples from the area north of the Caledonian Canal due to the disproportionate fieldwork costs in this area. Some analyses are (can be) produced for the population of Scotland south of the Caledonian Canal but 510W the sample sizes are not large enough for all the analyses that are available for Great Britain. The information on this survey was provided by a statistician from the Government Statistical Service within the Department of Social Security.ONS co-ordinates the user requirements for a number of nation-wide surveys—including the FES, GHS and NES—in consultation with other government departments including the Scottish Office. Departmental requests for increases in the sample sizes of these surveys in particular areas, and their source of funding, are considered along with all other requests for information from the surveys. There are no plans to increase the sample size of the FRS in Scotland.Information regarding the British Household Panel Survey can be obtained from Nick Buck (01206 873 066) at the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change at the University of Essex.Information regarding the Social Attitudes Survey can be obtained from Alison Park (0171 250 1866) at Social and Community Planning Research.