HC Deb 07 March 2002 vol 381 cc538-9W
Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many administrative forms(a) have been and (b) are proposed to be introduced by his Department in (i) 2000–01 and (ii) 2001–02. [37375]

Mr. Hutton

Information on the overall numbers of administrative forms is not held centrally. However, the Department's Review of Central Returns Steering Committee (ROCR) Secretariat regulates the numbers of approved central returns from the NHS, and Statistics Division, acting for the Office for National Statistics Survey Control Unit, approves all non-NHS surveys and local authority returns.

The table shows the number of returns for 2000–01, and 2001–02 to the end of February 2002 (the latest date for which figures are available).

Department of Health numbers of information requests by year
One-off On-going
2000–01
Statistical and financial NHS 33 205
Personal social services and other surveys 3 24
Total 36 229
2001–021
Statistical and financial NHS 7 215
Personal social services and other surveys 2 24
Total 9 239
1 To end February 2002

Notes:

One-off requests are generally to meet short-term information demands. On-going returns include annual censuses, quarterly performance data and other information for which there is a continuing need.