According to Inside Housing:
Former Labour minister John Healey wrote to Sir Andrew Dilnot, chair of UKSA , last week after DCLG published a consultation paper outlining measures to cut the £4m cost of producing the English Housing Survey.
DCLG has suggested publishing the survey, which contains information on households, stock conditions and energy efficiency, every two years instead of annually.
The move has been criticised by housing organisations who have warned moving to biennial publication could hamper decision-making among policy-makers and in the sector. The Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation have both criticised the proposals.
Today, the UK Statistics Authority confirmed it is now looking at DCLG’s proposals.
Mr Healey said the move would make ‘government decisions about housing less evidence-based’. He wrote to Sir Andrew on 21 January to ask whether he thinks the DCLG’s proposals are appropriate.
A UK Statistics Authority spokesperson: ‘We are looking into the issues raised by Mr Healey and will respond to them publicly.’ The UKSA promotes good practice in relation to official statistics and can make recommendations on the government.
DCLG has also asked for other ideas to cut the cost of the survey. Brandon Lewis, housing minister, said: ‘The English Housing Survey currently costs taxpayers £4m a year to run, which is an excessive amount of money. ‘