Office for National Statistics (Hansard, 21 July 2004)

§ Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 21 July 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the estimated expenditure by the Office for National Statistics in compiling regional-level statistics and indicators was in the most recent year for which figures are available. I am replying in his absence. (184977)

The estimated expenditure relating to the Regional and Local Division and the Regional Accounts branch of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was £1.1 million 2003/04. These work areas have responsibility for the production of a range of statistics and analyses at Government Office region level (including sub-regional figures as appropriate).

There is also significant expenditure by ONS on the Neighbourhood Statistics programme, which primarily addresses the need for statistics for smaller local area, to inform neighbourhood renewal initiatives.

In addition, many work areas in ONS produce regional-level statistics as part of their routine statistical outputs. However, an estimate of the total expenditure across ONS on the production of regional-level statistics would be very approximate and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

The Allsopp Review of Statistics for Economic Policy Making, whose final report was published in March 2004, made a number of recommendations for improving regional statistics in the UK. In the Government's recent 2004 Spending Review ONS was given the objective of implementing the recommendations of the Allsopp Review. As a result a higher level of ONS's resources will be allocated to regional statistics work than has been the case in recent years.