Monday 11 June 2018
More than 50 households agreed to take part in the States' Household Expenditure Survey, which gathers information about the goods and services that are bought by people that live in Guernsey, since it was launched last month.
The survey has been welcomed by employers, businesses and community organisations with many agreeing to assist the survey team in getting members of the community involved.
Sheila Cameron, Household Expenditure Survey Project Leader, said:
'We are very grateful for the support of employers who are welcoming our lunchtime visits to their premises to raise awareness of the survey and the incentives for taking part. We are also delighted that retailers and community organisations have agreed to give us the opportunity to come and meet their customers, clients and visitors. These opportunities to encourage members of the community to take part in the survey will help us reach our goal of 1,000 participant households, representing a cross-section of our society.'
Helen Walton, Head of Data and Analysis, said:
'It's a great start to the Survey and the feedback we've had from participants has been encouraging. They have found the survey straightforward to complete and have learned things about their own spending patterns that they would not have otherwise noticed.'
Each household that takes part will be offered the opportunity to either be entered into a quarterly prize draw to win up to £500 or receive a £25 voucher towards a meal at one of Randall's local restaurants.
Information gathered during the Survey, which is repeated periodically, is anonymised and then used by both the States and the public. For example, the results are:
- Used to update Retail Prices Index (RPI) basket, to ensure it remains accurate and relevant to what people in Guernsey spend their money on (see www.gov.gg/rpi for the latest figures). Changes in the RPI are used to inform:
- Tax allowances
- Social Security benefit rates
- Pension payments
- Maintenance payments
- Wage negotiations
- Rental price reviews
- Published for anyone to access for market or social research, see www.gov.gg/household for the results of the last survey.
Anyone who wishes to take part in the survey is encouraged to visit www.gov.gg/hes for further information or contact us on 717188 or hes@gov.gg
