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Census Of Production

Volume 807: debated on Monday 30 November 1970

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56 and 57.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what estimate he has made of the accuracy of replies obtained in the returns of Census of Production forms completed by various industries; and to what use is the information so gained applied;(2) if he is aware that the complexity of the Census of Production form and the Quarterly Inquiry are such as to lead to superficial assessments; and if he will inquire into and supply details of the amount of administrative time occupied in completing and checking information given.

I understand that industry was fully consulted during the preparation of these forms for the 1968 Census. As far as possible the information required is normally available in business records. The results are widely used by industry and Government, and checks indicate that they are generally reliable. I am not able to calculate the time spent in completing the forms, or in checking them.