Expenditure survey relaunched

Tuesday 14 November 2023

The way the States calculate and monitor our cost of living - through focused profiling - needs more volunteers to keep the data accurate

Run in five-year cycles, the Household Expenditure Survey uses data collected from different houses to compile an overall picture of island spending.

The data collection team for the States would like at least 1,000 households to take part this time around, with cash incentives for doing so. 

The data collected is used to compile things like the Household Cost Indices and to monitor the rate of inflation. 

The survey runs for a year, so households can volunteer at any point between now and October 2024, with each household asked to record their spending for a fortnight.

Helen Walton, Head of Data and Analysis for the States, said some people are asked at random to take part too. 

"The Household Expenditure Survey is in two parts - a fieldworker assisted questionnaire and then a spending diary to complete over the next fortnight. It can be booked in at a time that is convenient to you and the data you provide will be kept strictly confidential.

"To incentivise participation, once you have completed both parts of the survey, you can either enter one of four cash prize draws, each with three prizes: £150, £100 and £50; or you can collect a cash payment of £20 for the first adult plus a further £10 for each other person aged 16 or over and £5 for each person aged 15 or under in the household.

"Letters will continue to be sent to randomly selected addresses, to help ensure survey participants reflect the diverse range of households that live here. We are opening the Survey up to volunteers too, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to take part and receive a reward for doing so."

There's more information at gov.gg