British Crime Survey

Mr. Watson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had on improving the (a) quantity and (b) quality of information (i) collected and (ii) published by the British Crime Survey.

Mr. McNulty
Following recommendations from the Smith review of crime statistics, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has discussed proposals for extending the scope of the survey to under 16's and other groups and to set up a Survey and Statistics advisory group which can advise on the quality and coverage of the BCS. Work has commenced to take these proposals forward.