STATE OF ISRAEL
CENTRAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS
STATISTICS ORDINANCE (NEW VERSION), 5732 - 1972*,**
* Published in Dinei Medinat Yisrael (Nusach Chadash) No. 24 of the 25th Nisan, 5732 (9th April, 1972), p. 500.
Amendment passed by the Knesset of the 27th Tammuz, 5738 (1st August, 1978) and published in Sefer Ha-Chuckim No. 908 of the 7th Av, 5738 (10th August, 1978), p. 201
** The following text is a compilation of the above two sources, representing the Statistics Ordinance (New Version), 5732-1972 as amended in 5738-1978 and is based on the official translation of those sources, as published by the Ministry of Justice.
STATISTICS ORDINANCE (NEW VERSION), 5732 - 1972*,**
1. In this Ordinance - Definitions.**
"the Bureau" means the Central Bureau of Statistics;
"'census" means census of population;
"statistics" means statistical information relative to the matters indicated in sections 3 and 7 and particulars of the subjects included in census questionnaires under section 6 and includes any such information and particulars as aforesaid as are collected in accordance with statistical sampling methods which are not arbitrary;
"statistics acts" means the collection and processing of statistics;
"State agencies" means government Ministries and includes local authorities, as well as authorities, bodies corporate and other agencies established by enactment or decided upon by the Government for the the purposes of this Law;
"the Statistician" means the Government Statistician;
"employed" means any person employed in carrying out any function under this Ordinance;
"employed employee" means an enumerator, an agent and any person empowered in respect of a particular matter by regulation under this Ordinance or by the Statistician in writing;
"census order" means an order under section 3;
"questionnaire" includes any form of document.
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* Published in Dinei Medinat Yisrael (Nusach Chadash) No. 24 of the 25th Nisan, 5732 (9th April, 1972), p. 500.
** Amendment passed by the Knesset on the 27th Tammuz, 5738 (1st August, 1978) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 908 of the 7th Av, 5738 (10th August, 1978), p. 201.
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Government Statistician.**
2. (a) The Government shall, upon the proposal of the Prime Minister, appoint a Government Statistician. Notice of the appointment shall be published in Reshumot
(b) The Statistician shall head the Bureau and shall guide the statistical apparatus of the State agencies.
(c) The Statistician shall, in carrying out his functions, act on the basis of scientific considerations.
Functions of Bureau.**
3. The function of the Bureau shall be -
(1) to perform, and publish the results of statistical acts as to the population and its social health economic, commercial, industrial and other activities and as to the physical conditions of the country;
(2) to cooperate with State agencies in performing statistical acts and publishing their results;
(3) to prepare, in consultation with the Public Council for Statistics, multi-annual genral schemes for the statistical acts of State agencies;
(4) to prescribe, in consultation with the Public Council for Statistics and the agencies concerned, uniform statistical classifications for the use of Government agencies;
(5) to assemble and publish information on statisical acts which are performed or planned by or for the Bureau or State agencies.
Statistical training
13. The human resources of the CBS include professionals in the fields of statistics, economics, and social sciences. In keeping with its commitment to professionalism and to the development of human resources, the CBS supports the continuous training of its directors and staff members. Moreover, the CBS conducts a specialized program applied official statistics, in collaboration with the Department of Statistics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants in this program are a potential source of qualified, high skilled workers for the CBS and other government agencies.
(1) In-house training Unit
The training unit is committed to the professional objectives of the CBS, and aims to improve the performance of workers in the organization. The articulated objectives for 2006/7 are as follows:
(a) To develop specialized knowledge and professional skills among the staff of the CBS.
(b) To assimilate a broad and integrative perspective of the statistical production.
(c) To strengthen cooperation and sharing of knowledge in the organization.
(d) To help the administration assimilate organizational changes.
(e) To assimilate new technological tools and work methods.
(1.1) In-service training provides staff members with the tools they need in their work at the CBS. The training model focuses on three areas of development:
(a) Professional knowledge in the worker’s area of specialization (statistics, economics, demography, etc.).
(b) Technological tools such as SAS, dot.net, etc.
(c) Professional skills like oral presentations, scientific writing, etc.
The process of constructing the training program begins with definition of organizational objectives for the forthcoming year, under the direction of the government statistician. Afterwards, departmental objectives are defined under the direction of the senior directors of the department, and needs are assessed at the level of the individual worker, with emphasis on the knowledge required by each of the 800 workers. The program developed in this process aims to promote the long-term goals of the organization for the coming years while also addressing acute needs. Notably, in light of recent budget constraints we have had to cut back on the professional training programs for CBS staff.
The yearly training program is finalized in terms of course content, lecturers, prerequisites, and schedule, and a booklet of ‘Training Regulations and Catalog of Courses’ is published every January.
The training unit is also responsible for the quality and effectiveness of the courses and for their evaluation. Quality management is implemented before, during, and after courses.
The evaluation process begins with careful assessment of current needs, assuming that the more the courses respond to those needs, the greater the probability that the training will be effective. The content of the courses is designed in collaboration and consultation of the professional staff at the CBS. Each instructor participates in a preparatory session with the training unit, in which he/she receives information about the CBS and about the characteristics of the target population.
While the courses are in session, participant observations are conducted to evaluate the instructor’s perfmrance, the course actual content and the level of group interaction. In long-term or new courses, the training unit holds an open feedback session at mid-term, in order to improve or change the course while it is still in progress. The idea is to “keep the finger on the pulse”, to make sure that the courses are progressing as planned, and to change the course content, logistical conditions, or even the instructor if necessary.
At the end of the course, the participants are asked to fill out a feedback questionnaire (Level One in Kirkpatrick’s Model), which examines their satisfaction with the course content, the instructors’ teaching skills, and the teaching aids. They are also asked to indicate the extent to which they can apply the knowledge acquired in the course in their work. The results of the feedback are reported to the instructors, as well as to the members of the training committee of the CBS. A final test or paper, which are part of the course requirements, provides the training unit with additional tool for evaluation (Level Two in Kirkpatrick’s Model). The evaluation results are analyzed, and conclusions are drawn in an ongoing process.
(2) Master’s Degree Program in Official Statistics
The goal of the program is to expand the students’ knowledge of official statistics, and to qualify them as professional workers in official statistics. The program is open to graduate students in the fields of Statistics, Economics and Sociology.
The curriculum comprises basic courses and specific courses in applied statistics at the Master’s degree level, as well as electives from the general Master’s program. Compulsory courses are: (1) a seminar in official statistics methods, and (2) advanced sampling. Elective courses are: time series analysis; small area estimation; statistical methods for innovative censuses; and models and methods for research on populations.
Quality management
14. The CBS has appointed a Quality Committee, headed by the Deputy Director General of Administration and International Relations. The committee is responsible for promoting the quality of work at the Central Bureau of Statistics, through the definition of policies, objectives for quality and coordination of activities in the organization.
Following the policy of the Civil Service Commission, the CBS decided to adopt the System for Organizational Excellence of the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management). Assessments of the units at the CBS are conducted as a tool for planning and improving their work performance. The contribution of this approach lies in its emphasis on principles of continuous improvement, through active involvement of workers in the processes, and through improvements in ongoing communication between workers and managers. This approach, which emphasizes the need to define goals, objectives, and measures, requires administrative control over the promotion of quality in professional and managerial processes. In its report of February 2006, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that the EFQM process has resulted in more efficient, transparent, and well-documented collection, validation, and compilation processes at the CBS.
The CBS uses various tools to promote service quality and to enhance the quality of management and work. Of those, the most important tools are:
(a) "Improvement teams". The teams encompass all of the units in the organization, in an attempt to facilitate solutions to various problems, as well as to facilitate work processes at the administrative and professional levels.
(b) Charter of commitment to service quality. To date, four charters of commitment to service quality have been produced at the CBS, by units that serve clients within the Bureau. Defining standards of service quality facilitates efficient work, and enables better coordination among professional staff at the CBS. The CBS plans to expand the use of charters as a management tool in its relations with external clients, in order to further improve the level of services provided.
(c) Feedback surveys. The CBS conducts periodic surveys aimed at receiving feedback related to workers. Two types of surveys are conducted; an opinion survey of all workers, and a worker evaluation, in which managers evaluate the performance of their staff and define appropriate objectives and recommendations for improvement in the future.
(d) Defining structured work practices. The CBS is in the process of defining detailed work procedures for the various units. There are two types of practices: documentation of professional work processes as a basis for knowledge management and control; and practices aimed at standardizing and enhancing the clarity of administrative processes.
The Central Bureau of Statistics attributes considerable importance to ongoing promotion of professionalism of its various units and is one of the leading government ministries involved in promoting service quality in Israel.
Coordination of statistical acts.**
16. (a) Statistical acts by or for a State agency which involve addressing the public or part thereof shall be performed after consultation with the Statistician. Where the act is a census, it shall only be performed with the advance permisison of the Prime Minister.
(b) Statistical acts by the Bureau relating to a matter in the area of activity of a Government Ministry shall be performed after consultation with the Ministry concerned. Where the act is a census, it shall only be performed with the advance permisison of the Prime Minister.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "census" means a statistical act performed in the State or in part thereof which involves addressing the whole of the public concerning on a matter relating to population or housing or to agriculture, industry or some other economic activity.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not prevent the collection, otherwise than for statistical purposes alone, of particulars required in carrying out a function under any law.
Census.**
17. (a) The Prime Minister, in consultation with the Statisician and the Council, direct by order that a census of the population or of part thereof be taken in the State of in part thereof.
(b) The census order shall prescribe the date of the census, the subjects to be included in the questionniares, the persons of whom a census shall be taken, the persons who shall answer the questionnaires and any other matter the Prime Minister may see fit to prescribe for the efficient carrying out of the census.
Statistics.**
18. With the approval of the Governmnet, the Bureau shall, in connection with a census or otherwise, collect statistics relating to all or any of the following matters:
(1) population and housing thereof;
(2) entry into and exit from Israel;
(3) demography and health;
(4) social and educational matters;
(5) trade and marketing;
(6) imports and exports;
(7) prices of commodities, immovable property and securities;
(8) wholesale and retail prices;
(9) handicraft and industry;
(10) production and manufacture, including building;
(11) stocks of finished and unfinished goods;
(12) rights in the different categories of immovable property; condition of immovable
property and produce of land;
(13) occupation and condition of buildings;
(14) the annual value of immovable property;
(15) transfers, mortgages registered or discharged, and leases of immovable
property;
(16) conditions for the transfer of rights of possession or ownership;
(17) rent payable or receivable in respect of immovable property, including
dwellings, shops and other business premises;
(18) cost of living;
(19) incomes and earnings;
(20) wages, hours and conditions of labour;
(21) employment, unemployment, and effective strength of labour force;
(22) industrial disturbances and disputes;
(23) injuries, accidents and compensation;
(24) banking and finance;
(25) transport and communication by land, water and air;
(26) marine, life, accident, fire or other insurance;
(27) personal and other services;
(28) local government;
(29) any such other matters as the Statistician may direct with the approval of the
Prime Minister.
Statistics how to be collected.
19. The statistics shall be collected by means of questionnaires prepared by the statistician and delivered to the person for whom the particulars are required or by such other means as the Statistician shall determine.
Enumerators and agents.
20. For the purpose of taking a census and of collecting other statistics, the Statistician shall appoint enumerators and agents and describe their function.
Declaration.
21. The Statistician shall be competent to receive an affidavit under this Ordinance. He may require any employee to make and sign prior to entering upon his functions, before him or some other person competent to receive an affidavit and in such manner as the Statistician may prescribe, a declaration in the form set out in the Schedule.
Duty to furnish particulars.**
22. Every person from whom particulars may lawfully be required pursuant to this Ordinance for the purpose of a census or other satistics shall, to the best of his knowledge, when required to do so by the Statistician or an empowered employee, fill up and supply the parituculars specified in this questionnaire, in accordance with the instructions accompanying or having reference to the same.
Service of requirement to furnish particulars.
23. (a) The leaving by an employee at any house of a questionnaire purporting to be issued under this Ordinance, accompanied by a notice requiring the occupant of the house or, in his absence, another member of the family to fill it up and sign it within a stated time, shall, as against the occupant, be a sufficient requirement so to do even if he is not named in the notice or not personally served therewith.
(b) The leaving by an employee of a questionnaire as referred to in subsection (a) at the office or another place of business of any person, or the delivery thereof to any person or his agent by registered letter, accompanied by a notice requiring the questionnaire to be filled up and signed within a stated time, shall, as against such person or, in the case of a partnership of unincorporated body of persons, as against the members thereof and each of them, be a sufficient requirement for such to be done and , if so required in the notice, for the questionnaire to be posted to the Bureau within a stated time.
Duty to answer questions.**
24. A person shall, to the best of his knowledge and belief, answer every question asked him by the Statistician or any enpowered employee, provided that the information sought is required for the purposes of any statistics authorised by this Ordinance to be collected.
Permission to enter and to affix marks.**
25. Where the Government has made a census order or has approved the collection of other statistics under section 7, the Statistician, or an empowered employee may, for the purpose of making any inquiries or observations necessary for obtaining statistics, do at all reasonable times the following:
(1) in the case of a census - enter and inspect any factory, mine, workshop, office or place where persons are employed and any dwelling-house and affix numbers, letters or marks in connection with the census;
(2) in the case of the collection of other statistics - enter and inspect the said places, except a dwelling-house.
Access to records.**
26. Where the Governmnet has, under section 7, approved the collection of statistics relating to any matter, any person who has the custody, or charge of any records or documents of the State, a local authority, a religious community within the meaning of article 2 of the Palestine Orders in Council, 1922-1947, or any person from which, in the opinion of the Statistician, information can be obtaines relating to such matter or likely to assist in the completion or correction of statistics relating to such matter shall grant access thereto to the Statistician or any empowered employee for the purpose of obtaining such information.
Request for information notwithstanding other law.**
27A. (a) Notwithstanding anything provided in any law prohibiting the delivery or requiring the keeping secret of information, the Statistician may require a State agency to deliver to him information, records and documents in accordance with sections 11, 13 and 15 for the purpose of the performance of a statistical act by the Bureau, and upon his doing so, the prohibitions and obligations imposed by that law shall apply mutatis mutandis to everyone engaged in the performance of such statistical act.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any information, records and documents -(1) which in the opinion of the Prime Minister of the Minister of Defence are matters of State security;(2) which in the opinion of the Prime Minister or the Minister of Foreign Affairs are matters of foreign relations of the State or matters the delivery of which may injure international trade relations of the State;(3) the delivery of which, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, may injure the economic system of the State or, in the opinion of the Governor of the Bank of Israel, may injure the financial institutions of the State.
Processing and publication of statistics.
28. The Statistician shall cause the statistics and other particulars collected under this Ordinance to be compiled and tabulated and shall cause them or abstracts thereof or extracts therefrom, with or without observations thereon, to be published as may be generally or specially directed to him.
Restrictions on application of certain provisions.**
30. (a) The previous of section 26 shall not apply to statistics and othter particulars relating to State agencies only and shall also not apply where the statistics or other pariculars have already been published, or made available for inspection by the public, by lawful authority.
(b) The provisions of section 26(a) and (b) shall not apply where the return, answer or information relates -(1) to an individual or a partnership, such individual, or all the partners, having in advance consented, in writing, to its publication;(2) to a body corporate, or an unicorporated body of persons, whose directors or other governing body (whatever its name) or, in the absence of a governing body, whose members have in advance passed a resolution approving its publication.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 26(a) and (b), the Statistician may deliver to a chief registration officer appointed under the Population Registry Law, 5725-1965, information obtained in the census as to the name, identity number and address of any person. Chapter Five of the said Law shall apply to such information.
Collection of statistics in cooperation with other agencies.**
31A. (a) Where the Bureau collects statistics or other particulars in cooperation with, or as an agent of, any State agency authorised under law to require the same, it may, notwithstanding anything provided in this Ordinance, disclose them to that agency so long as it is indicated in a conspicuous position on the document by which they are requested that they are collected by the Bureau as aforesaid and the person from whom they are collected has been advised of such fact. Where the Bureau collects statistics or other particulars in cooperation with, or as an agent of, a State agency not authorised under law to collect the same, the Bureau may disclose them to that agency if it is also indicated as aforesaid that the provisions of the Ordinance concerning the duty to deliver particulars do not apply and the person from whom the particulars are collected has been advised of such fact.
(b) Where the Bureau collects particulars from any person, icluding a State agency, permitted under law to disclose them, and such person authorises their disclosure, then, notwithstanding anything provided in this Ordinance, the Bureau may disclose them to any State agency for the purpose of carrying out the latter’s functions.
(c) Where the Bureau collects particulars from, or from the forms of, any person, icluding a State agency, it may, notwithstanding anything provided in the Ordinance, deliver them back to that person or agency, as the case may be, either in the form in which it received it or in any other form.
Inadmissibility.
32. No return, records, documents or other information made or obtained for the purposes of statistics under this Ordinance shall be admissible or used in evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings, except criminal proceedings for an offence under this Ordinance.
Major offences.**
33 (a) An employee who does any of the following shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of three years:
(1) directly or indirectly uses for his personal benefit any information which reaches him by virtue of his employment and which has not yet been published under this Ordinance, such information being likely to affect the market price of any product or article;
(2) without lawful authority publishes or communicates to any person, otherwise than in the ordinary course of his employment, any information acquired by him in the course of such employment;
(3) knowingly prepares for the Bureau any false statistics.
(b) A person who publishes or communicates to any person any information which to his knowledge has been disclosed in contravention of this Ordinance shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of three years.
Miscellaneous offences.
34. The following shall be guilty of an offence under this Ordinance:
(1) a person who hinders or obstructs the Statistician or an emplowered employee in the exercise of any power conferred under this Ordinance;
(2) a person who refuses or neglects to fill up or supply the particulars required in any questionnaire lawfully sent to him or left with him, or to answer any question or inquiry addressed to him under the authority of this Ordinance;
(3) a person who knowingly makes in any questionnaire filled up or delivered by him pursuant to this Ordinance, or in an answer to any question asked him under the authority of this Ordinance, any statement which is untrue in a material particular;
(4) a person who without lawful authority destroys, defaces or mutilates any questionniare containing particulars collected under this Ordinance, or who writes or makes on any questionnaire issued for the purposes of this Ordinance and delivered to the Statistician or an empowered employee, any indecent, obscene, insulting or blasphemous remarks, drawing or other matter;
(5) an empowered employee who, without sufficient excuse from sickness or other unavoidable cause, refuses or neglects to carry out any functions imposed on him by this Ordinance or assigned to him by the Statistician or by an employee whose subordinate he is.
General penalty.**
35. A person guilty of an offence under this Ordinance for which no other penalty is prescribed shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of three months.
Regulations.
36. The Govenment may make regulation -
(1) requiring partiuclars and information to be furnished at prescribed times by persons in prescribed areas for prescribed periods;
(2) requiring particulars and information to be furnished as to the addresses and occupations of persons;
(3) prescribing questionairres and information which are to be verified by affidavit, and the text of the affidavit;
(4) prescribing fees to be paid to the Bureau for the supply of statistics collected by it under this Ordinance and for any special information and report supplied, or special investigation carried out, by it;
(5) prescribing, where provision is not otherwise made therefor, all things required to be prescribed by this Ordinance or necessary for giving effect to its provisions.
SCHEDULE
(Section 10)
TEXT OF DECLARATION
I, .........................................declare that I will faithfully and honestly perform my task as ..........................................in conformity with the requirements of the Statistics Ordinance (New Version), 5732-1972, and of any direction issued in pursuance thereof, and that I will notwithout authority in that behalf disclose or make known any matter or thing which comes to my knowledge by reason of my employment in that task.