Reducing statistical burdens on business

by Andrew Machin, Office for National Statistics

Over recent years there has been a strong drive to ease the demands on the public resulting from government requirements generally. In particular there has been downward pressure on the compliance costs of business surveys. This paper discusses the nature of statistical burdens on business and the various methods to reduce them. It describes experience of measures in the UK, especially the use of existing administrative data sources, development of business registers and electronic data collection methods. A recent independent study identified savings in compliance costs to business of government surveys of up to 26 per cent without impairing the quality of essential statistics. Future possibilities for using existing data sources and collecting data directly from businesses' own information systems are described. Developments such as special modules in commercial business software packages are particularly important given the potential for extracting statistical data by electronic means with minimal burden on the companies concerned.

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