Written question asked by Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 26 October 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 October 1998. It was answered by Patricia Hewitt (Labour) on Thursday, 29 October 1998 on behalf of the Office for National Statistics.

Treasury;Office for National Statistics

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 26th October, Official Report, column 35, if he will make it his policy that honourable Members should be able to obtain without payment tabulations of data sets which have been paid for from public funds and which are available from the Data Archive. - Text of letter from Tim Hold, Director of Office for National Statistics.

Answer: Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 26 October 1998, Official Report, column 35, if he will make it his policy that hon. Members should be able to obtain without payment tabulations of data sets which have been paid for from public funds and which are available from the Data Archive. [57220] Ms Hewitt: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 29 October 1998: As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the Data Archive. The Data Archive is a national resource centre funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). It is for the ESRC--which is outside of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's remit--to advise upon the charging policy for the Data Archive.

Secondary information