§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress is being made by departments implementing survey holidays for small businesses. [53231]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) introduced a guarantee in 1997 to firms employing fewer than ten people that, once included in a statistical survey, a business will not have to complete another ONS statistical form for a further three years. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has this year introduced a similar guarantee in respect of transport surveys. An inter-departmental report, which looks at how far the idea of survey holidays could be extended across government departments, has been produced in response to recommend dations of the 1996 Osmotherly report "Statistical Surveys, Easing the Burden on Business". A copy of the report on survey holidays and an action plan agreed by department is available in the Library of the House.