Examination of Witnesses (Questions 300-301)
JOHN HEALEY
MP
14 JUNE 2006
Q300 Peter Viggers: That seems to
me to imply that you think that the population at large understand
the difference between National Statistics and other statistics.
I would wager you a £5 note to a sucked orange that 99% of
the population do not understand the difference between National
Statistics and other statistics. In our briefing notes we have
11 detailed pages, lists of schedules, of statistics which are
not National Statistics. I did not know this until I got involved
in this particular subject.
John Healey: Which ones of those,
Mr Viggers, do you think should be National Statistics?
Q301 Peter Viggers: It is the Statistics
Commission's analysis of official statistical outputs not designated
National Statistics. There is a massive schedule. I simply endorse
the Chairman's point.
John Healey: It is a question
of perception. You may well be right. I was reporting the findings
of an ONS-Statistics Commission survey. They asked the question
and the 62% was the response they got. I do not think that they
probed the underlying understanding of the difference between
ONS-produced statistics and GSS statistics.
Chairman: We will have to leave it there,
Minister. Thank you very much.
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