You asked
Who authorised the production of plastic gift cards and paper leaflets and letters? Please provide their name, contact number and contact email.
Please can you clarify the number of these gift cards printed vs. the number of the gift cards sent out?
We said
Thank you for your query. Please find the answer to your questions below.
1. Who authorised the production of plastic gift cards and paper leaflets and letters? Please provide their name, contact number and contact email.
We would be unable to disclose the information you have requested under Section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is considered exempt if it constitutes personal data.
2. Please can you clarify the number of these gift cards printed vs. the* *number of the girt cards sent out?
The materials we use when we communicate with members of the public, including the letters and incentives, are determined on the basis of extensive research and testing. We continually review these materials, so as to ensure we are following best practice. We are also guided by the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which sets out principles for collecting data for use in the production of statistics.
Incentives for respondents:
Our Love2Shop plastic gift cards are ordered on a monthly basis and the provider only prints what we request. Love2Shop supplies multiple organisations and therefore we cannot comment on the rest of their business operations. In 2019, 117,000 cards were sent to households invited to take part in one of our social surveys. We send incentives to respondents to persuade as many as possible to take part in our surveys. Research has found that incentives play a major part in whether someone chooses to take part in a survey. The data we collect are used to inform decision-making in government about issues of importance to the whole of society, so getting a response from as many people as possible is important for ensuring the quality and representativeness of that data.
Whilst we know that the gift cards help to increase the number of households who take part, we recognise that they are not environmentally friendly. We are currently in the process of moving away from offering gift cards towards using e-vouchers where possible. However, these can only be used where we have already made contact with someone, as we need their email address, so this is not always a viable option. We are therefore also currently exploring other options.
Letters and other materials for respondents:
We send out an advance letter to each sampled address to explain to the residents that they have been selected to take part in one of our studies. The purpose of this letter is to introduce ourselves and notify them that one of our interviewers will be in touch (either via phone or face-to-face) to carry out the study. This letter is designed to answer queries related to the purpose and topic of the study, as well as providing contact details so that a potential respondent can get in touch with us about any questions they may have.
The paper merchant Reprographics use is the same as the one used across ONS (The APS Group). The APS Group has 95% of its paper FSC or PEFC accredited, meaning that the paper used is from a managed crop source. Once it's been harvested it's then replanted within UK reservations. https://www.theapsgroup.com/en-us/responsible-business-environment/
For the 'What You Need To Know' leaflet, we used 170gsm Coated paper, and now we use 140gsm uncoated. Coated stock means that in the production of the print, an aerosol spray powder used to separate paper and colours on the paper. Using uncoated stock is a more environmentally friendly option.
We are very conscious of the need to continually make improvements to minimise the impact our survey processes have on the environment. We also welcome receiving feedback which can be provided by emailing us at surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk.