Lower income households needed for survey

Wednesday 06 March 2019

A Household Expenditure survey which the States have been running since May 2018 is now needing more lower income households to take part.

So far, it has been completed by more than 750 households, or over 1,700 people.

Some early analysis has been done on those who have taken part already, which shows that the people surveyed so far:

The States have been running this survey since 2018. 

Helen Walton, Head of Data & Analysis, said: “From the electronic census, we know what the overall profile of households on the Island looks like in terms of demographics, housing tenures and household incomes. By comparing that with the profile of respondents to date, we can see that some areas are under- represented at present and would like to balance that up if possible before the survey closes.

“If needed, we can statistically correct for any groups that are still under-represented once the survey has closed. But, if you are in a lower income household and you want to ensure there is robust information available to be used to inform the setting of benefit requirement rates, for example, then you should think about volunteering to take part if you haven’t already.

“The lower income households tend to be the lower spending households and the less you spend, the quicker the survey is to complete, so it really shouldn’t take up much of your time. Our friendly fieldworkers are there to help you through it too.”

The survey will be running until the end of April and during the remaining time, the team are particularly keen to hear from private and social rental tenants, lower income households and people aged in their 20s that are able to take part. To say thank you to participants for their time, they can choose between a £25 restaurant voucher or a ticket to the quarterly cash prize draw with a top prize of £500 and five other prizes. The last draw takes place on May 31 2019.

A fieldworker will guide householders through the main questionnaire and will input their information on regular payments and large purchases. Householders are then asked to record their expenditure on groceries and other purchases over a fortnight. The responses are anonymised.

The survey team is always on hand to respond to enquiries by email hes@gov.gg or by phone on 717188. To find out more or to volunteer to take part (at any time until the end of April 2019) visit www.gov.gg/hes.