Wednesday 09 March 2022
Letters are being sent to 500 rented households to ask them to help with calculating inflation accurately in Guernsey.
The letters will be sent by the States of Guernsey Data and Analysis team to 'The Occupier(s)' and will ask the recipient whether they would be willing to provide the cost of their rent each quarter.
Households that have been randomly selected to receive this letter are not under any obligation to participate in this. However, agreeing to provide this information will help the States of Guernsey produce reliable figures for the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
Anyone else living in accommodation that is rented either directly from a landlord or via an agent is also welcome to participate, even if they have not received a letter. Those wishing to participate can email dataandanalysis@gov.gg stating their interest.
The retail price indices are all calculated using a very large 'shopping basket', which contains a wide range of goods and services on which local households spend money. Rent prices are very important within the basket, as they are the single biggest regular cost incurred by a large portion of households. As such, each quarter it is necessary to ensure enough rent prices are collected from households to produce reliable figures.
Some households already provide this information, but the number of these households has reduced over the years.
Helen Walton, Head of Data and Analysis, said:
'With RPI and RPIX being used for a range of purposes across the private and public sectors, it's important that these indices are accurate. Households that take a few minutes to provide the cost of their rent each quarter will help us maintain this accuracy. In advance, I'd like to thank those who will participate.
'If you don't receive a letter but live in rented accommodation and would be happy to provide us with this information, we'd be delighted to hear from you.'
