Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason HM Government's household participation survey offers £10 shopping vouchers to those who complete the survey; and what is the estimated annual cost to the taxpayer of such incentives.

The use of incentives is in line with best practice for public surveys and is common practice across Government. Incentives improve survey response rates, which is important for ensuring we have enough representative data. Low response rates carry a number of risks including insufficient data to analyse, bias in survey results and reduced stakeholder confidence.

We keep abreast of relevant research (such as a 2020 ONS study) and review our incentive strategy regularly to ensure it continues to represent good value for money for the taxpayer.

In 2021/22, Kantar Public issued, on behalf of DCMS, 33,841 vouchers (22,202 e-vouchers and 5,639 by post) as an incentive for completion of the 2021/22 Participation Survey. This equates to £338,410.