Minister Lim Hng Kiang's written reply to Parliament Question on the Rationale for Penalties Under the Statistics Act

Question

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the rationale behind enforcing the Statistics Act using penalties under Section 9(1); (b) whether monetary penalties are the most efficient manner to obtain information for the purposes of the Statistics Department; and (c) how many households have been penalised under Section 9(1) for infringements of the Act.

Written Reply by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry

The Department of Statistics (DOS)’s statistical activities are governed by the Statistics Act. Surveys conducted by DOS are usually carried out on a sample of firms or households that is representative of the entire population. Obtaining accurate returns from this representative sample is critical to ensure that the statistics compiled are reliable, as they are widely used by the government, academics and the general public. Accuracy of returns includes not only ensuring that data captured on individual firms or households are correct and consistent, but also that there is no selection and response bias in terms of respondents to the survey. 

The penalties provided under Section 9(1) of the Statistics Act are thus intended to deter non-response and wilful provision of false information to DOS. The Statistics Act also sets out strict requirements to protect the confidentiality of individual data collected. The penalties and safeguards in the Statistics Act are similar to statistical legislations governing national surveys in many other developed and regional countries.

In carrying out its surveys, DOS proactively engages the respondents to seek their cooperation and also provides relevant assistance to help them complete the surveys. For example, trained survey officers who can speak the languages and dialects that the respondents are conversant in will make arrangements to visit at dates and timings convenient to the respondents. In the case of the Household Expenditure Survey, which takes place every 5 years and is currently being conducted, survey officers will assist households with the recording of their daily expenditure if necessary, and also accept receipts with sufficient details. DOS will only impose penalties for non-compliance as a last resort. Thus far, DOS has not had to do so for household surveys.