§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Minister of Health's powers to control and direct the Registrar General in the performance of his duties under the Census Act 1920 were rescinded; who now holds those powers; and what amendments have been made to section 2(2) of the Act to reflect the change of ministerial control. [4994]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Taylor, dated 19 July 2001
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on when the Minister of Health's powers to control and direct the Registrar General in the performance of his duties under the Census Act 1920 were rescinded, as well as who now holds those powers and what amendments were made to section 2(2) of the Act to reflect the change in ministerial control (4994).The functions of the Minister for Health in respect of his powers under the provisions of the Census Act 1920 were transferred to the Secretary of State for Social Services in 1968 by the Secretary of State for Social Services Order (Statutory Instrument 1968/1699). An amendment to the wording of the section 2(2) of the Census Act 1920 was made accordingly, replacing 'Minister for Health' with `Secretary of State'.These functions were subsequently transferred to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1996 when the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys was merged with the Central Statistical Office to form the Office for National Statistics. This merger was implemented under the Transfer of Functions (Registration and Statistics) Order (Statutory Instrument 1996/273), which was made on 14 February 387W 1996 and came into force on 1 April 1996. No amendment to the Census Act itself was necessary to reflect this change in ministerial control.