Office for National Statistics (Hansard, 1 March 2004)

§ Mr. Laws
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the buildings owned by the Office for National Statistics, broken down by(a) purpose and (b) value; and if he will make a statement. [156762]

§ Ruth Kelly
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Laws, dated 1 March 2004
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the buildings owned by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), broken down by (a) purpose and (b) value.
The value and purpose of Office for National Statistics (ONS) buildings are as follows:

£ million

Site Purpose Building
value
Land
value

Southport, Merseyside Office 3.166 1.071

Christchurch, Dorset Store 1.323 0.811

Titchfield. Hampshire Office 5.658 1.946

Newport, South Wales Office 7.408 3.268

Note:

These building were valued in 2000 by GVA Grimly, a firm providing estates and valuation services, in accordance with established professional standards. These valuations are adjusted annually using Treasury indices, and are shown for the Financial Year 2002–04.

Data for the buildings occupied in London by ONS at Drummond Gate and Bessborough Tower, Pimlico and the Family Records Centre, Islington are not included in this table as they are leased, and not owned by the ONS.
Refurbishment works carried out by ONS on its leased properties in Pimlico were capitalised, and their written-down value at 31 March 2003 was £22.946 million. The value of these works is not shown in the above table. but was included in an estimate of the total value of ONS buildings given in answers to a previous Written Question on this subject (Official Report, 22 January 2003, column 417W).
The General Register Office (GRO) is part of ONS, and is responsible for the registration of births. marriages and deaths in England and Wales. It operates from the ONS sites in Southport, Merseyside and Islington London.

§ Mr. Laws
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of spending on the Office for National Statistics for each year from 1997–98 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [156763]
713W

§ Ruth Kelly
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. David Laws, dated 1 March 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning spending on the Office for National Statistics for each year from 1997–98 to 2005–06. I am replying in his absence.
The requested information is shown tn the attached table. The figures shown include expenditure on the General Register Office, part of the Office for National Statistics, which is responsible for administering the system for registering births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales.

Expenditure on the Office for National Statistics, 1997–98 to
2005–06

Financial year Expenditure (£ million)

1997–98 97.8

1998–99 101.6

1999–2000 108.4

2000–01 154.7

2001–02 209.9

2002–03 147.5

2003–04¹ 155.0

2004–05¹ 177.0

2005–06¹ 191.0

¹ Figures for 2003–04 onwards are for planned expenditure, as published in Table 1 of the ONS Spring 2003 Departmental Report (Cm 5931)

Notes:

1. Expenditure is calculated as the total of the net resource budget and the capital budget.

2. Figures from 1998–99 to 2002–03 include additional provision for planning, fieldwork and initial processing of the 2001 Census of Population in England and Wales. The period of peak expenditure on the Census occurred between 2000 and 2002.

3. Figures from 2003–04 onwards include additional provision from the government Spending Review settlement of 2002, for ONS to invest in a programme of modernisation to enhance our systems and processes. A total of £75 million has been provided for this purpose over the three years from 2003–04.

			£ million
Site	Purpose	Building value	Land value
Southport, Merseyside	Office	3.166	1.071
Christchurch, Dorset	Store	1.323	0.811
Titchfield. Hampshire	Office	5.658	1.946
Newport, South Wales	Office	7.408	3.268
Note:
These building were valued in 2000 by GVA Grimly, a firm providing estates and valuation services, in accordance with established professional standards. These valuations are adjusted annually using Treasury indices, and are shown for the Financial Year 2002–04.

Expenditure on the Office for National Statistics, 1997–98 to 2005–06
Financial year	Expenditure (£ million)
1997–98	97.8
1998–99	101.6
1999–2000	108.4
2000–01	154.7
2001–02	209.9
2002–03	147.5
2003–04¹	155.0
2004–05¹	177.0
2005–06¹	191.0
¹ Figures for 2003–04 onwards are for planned expenditure, as published in Table 1 of the ONS Spring 2003 Departmental Report (Cm 5931)
Notes:
1. Expenditure is calculated as the total of the net resource budget and the capital budget.
2. Figures from 1998–99 to 2002–03 include additional provision for planning, fieldwork and initial processing of the 2001 Census of Population in England and Wales. The period of peak expenditure on the Census occurred between 2000 and 2002.
3. Figures from 2003–04 onwards include additional provision from the government Spending Review settlement of 2002, for ONS to invest in a programme of modernisation to enhance our systems and processes. A total of £75 million has been provided for this purpose over the three years from 2003–04.