Presentation and Official Statistics · The presentation of official statistics and analysis...

NatioNal StatiSticiaN’S GuidaNce:

Presentation and Publication of Official Statistics

iSBN 978 1 85774 691 4

NatioNal StatiSticiaN’S GuidaNce:

Presentation and Publication of Official Statistics

2 | National Statistician’s Guidance

ISBN 978-1-85774-691-4

the National StatisticianThe National Statistician – a statutory office holder – is also the Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority Board and the Board’s principal adviser on:

• thequalityofofficialstatistics• goodpracticeinrelationtoofficialstatistics,and• thecomprehensivenessofofficialstatistics

SheisalsotheHeadoftheGovernmentStatisticalService(GSS)whichisanetworkofprofessionalstatisticiansandtheirstaffoperatingbothwithintheOfficeforNationalStatisticsandacrossmorethan30othergovernmentdepartmentsandagencies.

enquiriesForenquiriesaboutthecontentofthispublication:Tel:02070142350Email:[email protected]

copyright and reproduction©Crowncopyright2009ThismaterialissubjecttoCrownCopyrightprotection.ForinformationonONScopyrightandonreproducingorredistributingONSmaterial,see

www.ons.gov.uk/copyright/index.html

Lastreviewed:August2009

National Statistician’s Guidance | 3

introduction 4

objectives 5

Responsibility and organisational policies 6Responsibility 6Organisationalpolicies 7

Presentation and commentary 8

accessibility 11

Pre-release access 12

Publication 14Publicationtimetable 14Releasingstatistics 17Publishedinformationtoaccompanystatistics 23

Pricing 24

annex a: Pre-release access for Quality assurance 26

contents


Dame Karen Dunnell DCB National Statistician

Edition 1.0 of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics was published in January 2009. It provides a benchmark of good practice for all bodies producing official statistics. Complying with the Code will help provide assurance that official statistics have been produced to high standards and that they serve the public good. It will also help raise trust and confidence in those statistics.

This supplementary guidance to the Code is intended to help producers of statistics, other officials and ministers to interpret, understand and implement the Code. It should be viewed as supporting documentation and should not be regarded as prescriptive.

It is anticipated that the guidance will be reviewed and updated periodically, in response to experiences of using it as well as to reflect possible updates to the Code itself. Comments on this first edition of the guidance would therefore be most welcome.

August 2009

Introduction


objectives

1. Thisdocumentprovidesguidancetoallproducersofofficialstatisticsoninterpretingandimplementingthe‘Principles’and‘Practices’intheCodeofPracticeforOfficialStatisticswhichrelatetothepresentationandpublicationofofficialstatistics.

2. CompliancewiththeCodewillhelpensurethatstatisticalreportsarereleasedintothepublicdomaininanorderlymannerthatpromotespublicconfidenceandgivesequalaccesstoall,subjecttoanyrelevantlegislation.

3. Thisguidancecollatesthepresentationandpublicationprinciplesandpracticesintohighlevelthemes.ToestablishtherelationshipbetweenthisguidanceandtheCode,eachsectionbeginswithquotationsfromtherelevantprinciplesandpractices.

4. Pleasenotethatreferencestothe‘HeadofProfessionforStatistics’arealsointendedtorefertotheequivalentleadofficialineachorganisation.


Responsibility and organisational policies

Responsibility

Principle3,Practice2: Ensurethatthoseproducingstatisticalreportsareprotectedfromanypoliticalpressuresthatmightinfluencetheproduction or presentation of the statistics.

Principle3,Practice3(part):

Ensure that the relevant statistical Head ofProfessionhasthesoleresponsibilityfordecidingon…thecontentandtimingofstatisticalreleases.


Followallstatutoryobligationsandinternationallyendorsedguidelinesgoverning...release.

Protocol2,Practice9: Ensurethatgovernmentstatementsissuedalongsideofficialstatistics,andreferringto,orbasedupon,them:

a.containaprominentlinktothestatistical release and clearly refer to the source of the statistics;

b.arelabelledclearlyaspolicystatements(orministerialstatements)andarereadilydistinguishedfromastatistical release; and

c.meetbasicprofessionalstandards(forexample,statisticsshouldbecitedaccurately,andchartsshouldbedrawninanaccurateandimpartialway).


5. Heads of ProfessionforStatistics(HoPs)(ortheequivalentleadofficialinanorganisation)areprofessionallyaccountableforanystatements,actionsorjudgementswhichimpingeontheimpartialityandobjectivityofofficialstatistics.Seektheirguidanceasnecessary.Inturn,HoPsshouldinformtheNationalStatisticianandtheirownorganisation’spermanentsecretary(orequivalent)iftheyjudgethatimpartialityandobjectivityhavebeen,ormightbe,compromisedbythewordsoractionsofthoseoutsidetheirlineofmanagement.

6. HoPsareencouragedtoprovidepromptinformationandadvicetostakeholdersifitbecomesnecessarytoissueclarificationsorcorrectionswithrespecttothepublicuse,ormisuse,ofstatisticspublishedbytheirownorganisation.HoPsarealsoencouragedtoprovideadvice,whereappropriate,ifclarificationsorcorrectionsarerequiredwithrespecttothepublicuse,ormisuse,ofstatisticspublishedbyanypublicbodiessponsoredbytheirorganisation.

7. Provideadviceonthebestprofessionalstandardsforthepresentationofdatatoministersorofficialswhoplantoissueministerialorpolicystatementsonstatistics,includingthepresentationofstatisticsonanorganisation’swebsite.EnsurethatsuchstatementscontainalinkorreferencetotheoriginalStatisticalReleasepage.

organisational policies


PublishaRevisionsPolicyforthoseoutputsthataresubjecttoscheduledrevisions...

Principle8,Practice7: Manageofficialstatisticsinaccordancewithrelevantpublicrecordslegislationand codes of practice on records management.Depositofficialstatistics(accompaniedbyinformationabouttheirpurposes,designandmethods)withtherelevantnationalarchiveasrequiredinlegislation.


8. Publisharevisions policywhichisaccessiblefromthestatisticalreleasepageandwhichdescribes,forexample,whyandwhendataarerevised.Thispolicyshouldcoverallofficialstatisticssubjecttoscheduledrevisions.

9. Datamanagersshouldmanagetheirstatisticsinaccordancewiththerelevantpublicrecordslegislationandcodesofpracticeonrecordmanagement.Dataandanalysisthatislikelytobeofhistoricalinterest,oressentialtotheanalysisoftime-series,shouldberetainedinanappropriatearchive.Retentionpoliciesshouldtakeintoaccountpotentialusesof the data; the historical value of a particular data asset; securityimplications;thefactthatsomestatisticalproductsexistonlyontheweb,andanycostimplications.Whererecordsareheldelectronically,thisshouldbeinaformatthatislikelytobeeasilyaccessibleintheforeseeablefuture,andnotdependentonaparticularapplication.Recordsworthyofpermanentpreservationincludingdatasetsandrelevantdocumentationshouldbedepositedwiththerelevantnationalarchive.

Presentation and commentary

Principle2,Practice2: Presentstatisticsimpartiallyandobjectively.

Principle8,Practice2: Prepareanddisseminatecommentaryandanalysisthataidinterpretation,andprovidefactualinformationaboutthe policy or operational context of officialstatistics.Adoptformatsforthepresentationofstatisticsingraphs,tablesandmapsthatenhanceclarity,interpretabilityandconsistency.


10. Statisticalproducersshouldpresentstatisticalcontentsuchascommentary,tablesandgraphsimpartially,thatis,inamannerwhichavoidsappearingtofavouraparticularviewpoint.

11. Ensurethatkeymessages,suchasthosedescribingwhatthestatisticsaresayingabouttheeconomyorsociety,arepresented clearly.Attempttoachievebalance incommentaryandotheranalysis.

12. Statisticalcontentandanalysisshouldaimtobehelpfultousers,andaidinterpretationandfurtheruseoftheinformation,notablybytheinclusionoffullandimpartialcommentary.

13. Explainthekeyimpactofrevisions,forexample,‘Revisedfiguresshowa0.5percentincreaseinworkforceinQ32008comparedtothepreviousquarter,whileprovisionalfiguresshoweda0.7percentincrease’,butavoidlengthyaccountsofeveryminorchangetopreviouslypublishedfigures.

14. Thepresentationofofficialstatisticsandanalysisshould,asfaraspossible,beconsistentwithgood practice and acceptedmethodologies.Consultgoodpracticeguidessuchas Plain Figures1andorganisationalstyleguides,includingguidanceonbestwebpresentation.Statisticalreleasesshouldalsofollowgoodpracticeinaccessibilityandensuretheinformationisavailabletothewidestpossibleaudience.

1 PlainFigures,MyraChapmanandCathyWykes(StationeryOffice1996,2ndedition)


15. Thestyle and contentofstatisticalreportsshouldbebalancedandimpartial,andmeettheneedsofusercommunities,assetoutinparagraphs10to14.Thismeansthatstatisticalreleasesshould include:

• clearidentificationofthestatisticsbeingreleased

• commentarythatishelpfulandpresentskeymessages

• commentarythatisobjective,balancedandprofessionallysound,andthatdiscussesthestatisticsinthecontextoftheirlikelyuses

• readilyavailablemetadataaboutthestatisticsintherelease,ordetailsofwheretofindit,aswellasunderlyingdatawherethisisavailable

• statisticalpresentationthatisprofessionalandhelpful,andwhichfollowsanyguidanceongoodpracticeissuedbytheNationalStatistician

16. Avoidgivingstakeholdersasurprisewhenitcomestocontent,formatandtiming.Considertheneedsofarangeofstakeholders(forexample,‘expert’and‘inexperienced’users),consultingasappropriate.Indoingso,usestandardformatsforpresentationthat,asfaraspossible,permitconsistentcomparisonsovertime,whileallowingflexibilitytoexplainordepictimportantnewconceptsandtrends.

17. Seekexternalquality assurance,forexamplefrompolicyoracademicexperts,andpeerreview,wherethiswilladdvaluetothestatisticalrelease,ensuringthateditorialcontrolisretainedbystatisticalprofessionals.Anyexternalassurancemusttakeintoaccounttherequirementsofpre-releaseaccessandtheneedtotreatanyinformationobtainedinthiswayasrestricted.AsuggestedformofwordstousewhensendinganyunpublishedstatisticsforexternalreviewisprovidedatAnnexA.

18. Thecontentofallstatisticalreleasesshouldbereviewedregularlybystatisticsproducerstoensurethatreleasesarestillrelevantandfitforplannedpurpose.


accessibility

Principle2,Practice3: Makeofficialstatisticsequallyavailabletoall,subjecttostatutoryprovisionsforpre-releaseaccess.

Principle8,Practice3: Makestatisticsavailableinasmuchdetailasisreliableandpracticable,subjecttolegalandconfidentialityconstraints,offeringchoiceandflexibilityintheformataccordingtothelevelofdetailrequiredbytheuser.

Principle8,Practice4: Publiciseofficialstatisticsinwaysthatenableuserstoidentifyandaccessinformationrelevanttotheirneeds.Makeaccesstoofficialstatisticsasstraightforwardaspossiblebyprovidingeasy-to-useentrypoints.

Principle8,Practice5: Ensure that official statistics are disseminatedinformsthat,asfaraspossible,areaccessibletoarangeofdifferentaudiences,includingthosewithdisabilities.

Principle8,Practice6: Ensure that official statistics are disseminatedinformsthatenableandencourageanalysisandre-use.Releasedatasetsandreferencedatabases,supportedbydocumentation,informatsthatareconvenienttousers.

19. Accessibilityrelatesbothtomakinginformationclearandaccessibletoallusers,notjustexpertusers,andtoensuringthatthespecialneedsofuserswithparticularimpairmentsare,asfaraspossible,takenintoaccountwhendevelopingwebsitesandpublications.Furtherguidanceontheaccessibility,usabilityanddesignofwebsitesisavailablefromtheCentralOfficeofInformation2.

2 Webstandardsandguidelines–www.coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=188


20. Provideunderlying datatothepublicandstakeholdersinformatsthatareconvenienttothewidestrangeofusersandinamannerthatisimpartialandconsistentwiththepublicgood.Thereleaseofdetaileddatamustnotcontravenelawsorguidancerelatingtoconfidentiality–suchasPrinciple5inthe Code3.Avoidtheselectivereleaseofdetaileddatawhichmightbeinterpretedasfavouringspecificstakeholders.Includesupportingdocumentationthatwillaiduserunderstandingofthedataandensureusersareinformedofknownlimitationstothedataorknownareasofweakness.

Pre-release access

Protocol2,Practice7: Subjecttocompliancewiththerulesand principles on pre-release access set outinlegislation,limitaccessbeforepublicreleasetothosepeopleessentialforproductionandpublication,andforqualityassuranceandoperationalpurposes.Publishrecordsofthosewhohaveaccesspriortorelease.

Protocol2,Practice8: Ensure that no indication of the substanceofastatisticalreportismadepublic,orgiventothemediaoranyotherpartynotrecordedaseligibleforaccessbeforepublication.ReporttotheNationalStatisticianimmediatelyanyaccidentalorwrongfulrelease,andinvestigatethecircumstances.

3 ForfurtherguidanceonthispleaserefertotheNational Statistician’s Guidance: Confidentiality of Official Statistics.


21. Statisticalproducersmustrestrictaccess to first releases of official statistics prior to their publication to those persons essentialtotheirproduction,analysis,andpublicationorforqualityassurancepurposes,exceptinthosecircumstancesgovernedbythestatutoryrulesonpre-releaseaccess.

22. official statistics in their final formmustonlybemadeavailableinaccordancewiththerulesandprinciplesonpre-release access set out in the relevant Pre-release Access Order andinlinewithaccompanyingguidanceonimplementation.Publishedlistsofthoseindividualswhohavebeengrantedaccesstoofficialstatistics,priortotheirrelease,forbriefingpurposesshouldbemadeavailableintheformsetoutintherelevantguidance.Devolvedadministrationsshouldrefertotheirownguidanceonpre-releaseaccessasappropriate.

23. Statisticsproducersshouldensurethatnoindicationofthecontentinanynewreleaseismadepublicbeforerelease,norgiventothemediaoranyotherpartynotrecordedaseligibleforpre-releaseaccess.AnyaccidentalorwrongfulreleasemustbereportedtotheNationalStatisticianorthechiefstatisticianinadevolvedadministration4andaninvestigationofthecircumstancesinitiatedassoonasitbecomesknownthatawrongfulreleasehasoccurred.

4 Inmostcases,itwillalsobenecessarytoreporttheincidenttothepermanentsecretaryresponsiblefortheorganisation.


Publication

Publication timetable

Principle1,Practice4: Publishstatisticalreportsaccordingtoapublishedtimetablethattakesaccountofuserneeds.

Principle2,Practice1: Publishstatisticalreportsinanorderlymanner,inaccordancewithProtocol2.

Protocol2,Practice1: Release statistical reports as soon as theyarejudgedready,sothatthereisnoopportunity,orperceptionofopportunity,forthereleasetobewithheldordelayed.

Protocol2,Practice2: Publishatimetableofstatisticalreleasesfortwelvemonthsahead.

Protocol2,Practice5: Drawpublicattentiontoanychangeto a pre-announced release date and explainfullythereasonsforthechangeatthesametime.TherelevantstatisticalHead of Profession has the final decision andshouldnotbeinfluencedbynon-statisticalmatters.

24. Producersofofficialstatisticsshouldpublishstatisticalreleasesinanorderlymanner,thatis,inaccordancewithProtocol2oftheCodecovering‘ReleasePractices’,andwiththeguidanceprovidedbelow.

25. HeadsofProfessionforstatisticsmustmaintainaschedule of statistical releasesfor12monthsaheadandensurethatthisplannedtimetableisamendedandkeptuptodateonthePublicationHub5ReleaseCalendar.Thescheduleforreleasesshould,asfarasispossible,takeintoaccountuserneedsidentifiedthroughformalconsultationwithusersaspartoftheplanningofstatisticalprogrammes.

5 www.statistics.gov.uk


26. TheUKNationalStatisticsPublicationHubisawebsitebringingtogetherinformationaboutreleasesfromacrosstheUKstatisticalsystem.ItisacentralpointofaccessforNationalStatisticsintheUK.Releasescontinuetobestoredontheappropriateorganisationalwebsites;thePublicationHubsuppliesuserswithalinktowhereeachreleasecanbefoundontherespectiveorganisationalwebsite.

27. Thetimetableforregularstatisticalreleasesshould,asaminimum,identifytheplannedmonthortwo-monthwindowforarelease12monthsaheadinordertohelpusersplantheirownworkdrawingontheavailablestatistics.Foradhocreleasesthatwerenotknownatthetimetheannualschedulewasprepared,theplanneddateofreleaseshouldbepublishedassoonaspracticable.Ifithasnotbeenpossibleto pre-announce a date for any release then an explanation shouldbeprovided.

28. Theplanneddate of releasemustbeaddedtothePublicationHubReleaseCalendarnolaterthanfourweeksinadvanceofthereleasedate,orsixmonthsinadvanceinthecaseofmarketsensitivestatistics.

29. Publishstatisticalreportsassoonastheyarejudgedready,takingintoaccounttheneedtocheckdataanddraftcommentary,sothatthereisnoopportunity,orperceptionofopportunity,forthereleasetobewithheldordelayed.

30. Whendeterminingreleasedates,takeaccountofstatutoryrequirementsandconstraints.Where,forexample,thepre-releaseaccesslimitis24hours,itwouldbeinappropriatetochooseMondayasthedayofreleaseasthiswouldrequirepre-releaserecipientstobeavailableonaSunday.StatisticalreleasesrequiredbystatuteshouldonlybepublishedwhenParliamentissitting.


31. Producersshoulddiscussplannedstatisticalreleaseswithawidevarietyofusers,andthisdiscussioncantakeplaceaspartofregularuserconsultationonthestatisticsandinotherfora6.Itisalsoappropriatetodiscusstheplannedtimingofarelease,toensurethatasfaraspossiblethereleasedatewillallowfortheuseslikelytobemadeofthestatistics,althoughtheactualdateofreleaseshouldnotbesetonthebasisofnon-statisticalcriteria.

32. Insomecasesitwillbedesirabletoreview,acrossgovernment,the release dates proposed for all of the statistical releases whichrelatetoacommontopicandwhichareduetobepublishedataroundthesametime(suchaswithinamonthofeachother).Theaimshouldbetoco-ordinatepublicationarrangementsinordertoprovideamorejoined-upandcoherentreleaseservicetothepublic.Coherentpresentationcaninvolvereleasingstatisticsatthesametime,orbringingtogetherrelatedinformationinasinglejointpublication.

33. changes to the timingofapre-announcedrelease(forexample,areleasedatethathasbeenpublishedontheReleaseCalendar)mustbeexplainedtousersand,asaminimum,thereasonforthechangemustbeenteredontheReleaseCalendaratthesametimeasthenewdate.Changestopre-announcedreleasedatesmustonlybemadefortechnicalorstatisticalreasonsandnotinfluencedbynon-statisticalconsiderations.ThestatisticalHeadofProfessionhasthefinaldecisiononwhetheradateshouldbechangedandonthewordingoftheexplanationprovided.

34. TheinformationheldintheReleaseCalendarandPublicationHubshouldbecheckedbytheproducerofthestatisticstoensurethatitiscorrectanduptodate.Thischeckshouldextendbeyondthevisibleinformation(nameanddateofrelease)andshouldincludeassociatedmetadata,suchas:the‘theme’and‘topic’withinwhichthereleaseshouldbepresentedontheHub,theappropriatestatisticalsource,theproducingorganisationandeditor,thenationalcoverage,andlowestgeographicbreakdown.

6 TheStatisticsCommissionreportno.39‘ReleasingOfficialStatistics:AReviewofStatisticalFirstReleases’(March2008)providesguidanceonthegeneralprinciplestoapplyinconsultingwithusersoveroutputs.


Releasing statistics

Principle2,Practice4: Announcechangestomethodsorclassificationswellinadvanceofthereleaseofthechangedstatistics.

Principle2,Practice7: Correct errors discovered in statistical reports,andalertstakeholders,promptly.

Principle2,Practice8: Releaseallregularstatisticalreportsontheinternetwithoutchargetotheuser.

Principle3,Practice1: Issuestatisticalreportsseparatelyfromanyotherstatementsorcommentaboutthefiguresandensurethatnostatementorcomment–basedonpriorknowledge–isissuedtothepressorpublishedaheadofthepublicationofthestatistics.

Protocol2,Practice3: Ensure that all National Statistics can beaccessedfromtheNationalStatisticsPublicationHub.

Protocol2,Practice4: Issue statistical releases at the standard timeof9.30amonaweekday,tomaintainconsistencyandtopermittimefor users to understand and respond to theinformationduringnormalworkinghours.

Protocol2,Practice6: Includethenameandcontactdetailsoftheresponsiblestatisticianinstatisticalreports.

35. Plannedchangestocontent,format,methodsandclassificationswhichcanbeexpectedtoimpactonthestatisticalresultspresentedmustbeannouncedasfarinadvanceaspossible–ideallywithinthereleasewhichprecedestheonebeingchanged.Explainanddescribetheimpactofforthcomingchangesincludinganychangestostatisticalcontentgeneratedbychangesineconomicorsocialpolicy.


36. Inpublishedstatistics,explaincorrections to errors at theearliestopportunityandinawaythatprovidesmostbenefittostakeholders.Forexample,minorcorrectionsmightaccompanythenextversionofthestatisticalrelease,whilemajorerrorsmaybeseparatelynotifiedonwebsites.Insomecases,forexamplewhereerrorscouldimpactontheusesofstatistics,stakeholdersshouldbealertedbeforeanycorrectionsaremade.Ifindoubt,consulttheHeadofProfession.

37. Ifitprovesnecessarytocorrectandre-publishastatisticalrelease,placeanoteinthenewversionofthereleasewhichexplainsthereasonsfor,andtheimpactof,thecorrection(s).Point out that the corrected release replaces previous versions,whichmayhavealreadybeenaccessedbyusersofthestatistics.Avoidconfusingusersbyensuringthatonlythecorrecteddataareavailable,andthatsupersededreleasesareremovedfromwebsites.

38. Applyprofessionalandvalue-for-moneytestsbeforecorrectingerrorsbyaskingquestionssuchas:‘Arethesecorrectionswarrantedandimportanttostakeholders?’or‘Dothebenefitsofmakingthesecorrectionsoutweighthecosts?’

39. Producersofofficialstatisticsshouldpublishtheirstatisticalreleasesonpublicwebsitesfree of chargeandinamannerwhichmaximisestheiraccessibilityfordiverseaudiences.

40. InformationoneachreleasesuppliedtothePublicationHubmustincludeareferencetotheappropriate‘theme’and‘topic’withinwhichthereleaseshouldbeincluded,aswellasothermetadatarequiredatthisstage.

41. Astatisticalreleaseshouldbepublishedontheproducingorganisation’swebsite.ThePublicationHubwillprovidealinktoapageontheorganisation’sownwebsitewhichprovidesaccesstoNationalStatisticsreleases,butwillnotpublishthereleaseitself.Statisticsproducersmustensure,therefore,theavailabilityandoperabilityofalinkpagefromtheHubaswellasanydocumentscomplementarytoeachrelease.Organisationsshould,inturn,providealinkbacktotheHub.


42. Theinitialpageforpresentinganewstatisticalreleaseonanorganisation’swebsiteshouldbethelinksuppliedtothePublicationHub7,andshouldincludealloftherecommendedcontent for a standard Statistical Release page.Thisisasfollows:

• Aversionoftheagreedstraplineclearlystatingtheresponsibleproducerofthestatistics(theproducerresponsiblefortheircompilationandanalysis)andtheroleoftheUKStatisticsAuthority,thereleasetitleanditsdate of release

• ForNationalStatistics,thepagemustincludetheNationalStatisticsaccreditationlogowhichdemonstratesthatthestatisticshavebeenjudgedtobeCode-compliant.DisplayoftheNationalStatisticslogomustbeconfinedtothosestatisticsthatwereeitherlabelledassuchbeforecommencementofthecurrentstatisticallegislationorwhichhavebeenaccreditedassuchafteraformalassessmentbytheUKStatisticsAuthority

• Ashortdescriptionofthecontentorscopeofthepublicationandrelatedproducts

• Insomecasesitwillbedesirabletoincludeashortbullet-pointsummaryofthekeyfindingsreportedinthelatest statistics

• Linkstothestatisticalreleaseandanyrelatedproductspublishedatthesametime,includingwhereavailabletheunderlyingdata

• Thenationalcoverageoftherelease,thatiswhetherthestatisticsareUK-wide,orforEnglandonly,forScotland,WalesorforNorthernIrelandorforanycombinationofthese territories

7 TheScottishGovernmentpublishesastatisticalnewsreleasetoaccompanyallofficialstatistics.InthecaseoftheScottishGovernment,theinformationtobeincludedinthe‘statisticalreleasepage’(asreferredtoinparagraph42)willbeincludedinthestatisticalnewsreleaseandthestatisticalpublicationfrontpage.


• Thegeographicbreakdownavailablewithinthelateststatistics,forexamplewhetherthereleaseprovidesnationaltotals,regionalorlocalauthoritybreakdownsoranyothergeography(atitslowestavailablelevel)takenfromthelistofappropriategeographiesavailableinthePublicationHub

• Linkstootherrelevantinformation,suchasarchivesofpreviousreports,relatedstatisticalortechnicalinformationandthelistofpeoplewhohavebeengrantedprivilegedaccesstothestatisticsinadvanceofpublication(inaccordancewiththerulesgoverningpre-releaseaccess)

• Contactinformationforfurtherqueries(seealsoparagraph51below)

43. Thestatisticalreleasepageprovidesaone-stop-shopforboththenewstatisticsthemselvesandanystatisticalinformationrelatedtothatrelease.Itprovidesthenecessary‘discoverymetadata’enablinguserstoidentifyandaccessinformationrelevanttotheirneeds.Thestatisticalreleasepageshouldnotincludeanypoliticalcommentorlinkstoanypoliticalpagesonanorganisation’swebsite,otherthantotheorganisation’sstatisticshomepage.

44. Inmanycases,thestandardstatisticalreleasepagewillsufficeasthemechanismthroughwhichanewstatisticalreleaseispresentedtothepublicanditwillnotbenecessarytoissueaseparatestatisticalpressnotice.Whereanadditionalpressnoticeisrequired,alinktothispressnoticeshouldbeincludedonthestatisticalreleasepage,andthepressnoticeitselfshouldcontainalinktothestatisticalreleasepage.

45. Officialstatisticsshouldnormallybepublishedat9.30amonaweekdaytoensureconsistencyandimpartialityinthereleaseofstatisticsandtogiveuserssufficienttimetounderstandandrespondtotheinformationduringnormalworkinghours.


46. Ifastatisticsproducerbelievesthatpublishingofficialstatisticsatanytimeotherthan9:30wouldbenefitusers,thenarequestforanexemptionmustbemadetotheNationalStatistician–ideallyatleastonemonthinadvanceoftheplannedreleasedate–givingthereasonsforproposingthechange.Ifitisnotpossibletoseekexemptioninadvance,theNationalStatisticianshouldbeinformedaftertheeventandgivenareasonforthechangeoftime.

47. Statisticalproducersshouldpublishfirstreleasesofofficialstatisticsseparatelyfromstatementsthatincludeanypresentationoradvocacyofanyrelatedpolicies.Firstreleasesshouldbededicatedtotheinitialpublicationofdata,whetherheadlineresultsorfulldatasets.Inallcases,thefirstreleaseofstatisticsshouldfollowtheprinciplessetoutinthisguidance.Itwouldnotnormallybeacceptable,therefore,fornewstatisticstobemadeavailableinthefirstinstancethroughanon-statisticalrelease,suchasanorganisation’sannualreportorinapolicyorstrategydocument.Furtheranalysesofthedatacanbemadeavailableinasubsequentrelease,forexamplebyinclusioninanotherpublication,onawebsite,onrequest,orinresponsetoaParliamentaryQuestion.Ifresourcesallow,itisdesirabletomaketheseadditionalanalysesavailablegenerally,forexamplebypublicationontheorganisation’swebsite.

48. Statisticalproducersshouldincludeafactualstatementofpolicy contextandthelikelyuseofthestatisticswherethiswillhelpstakeholders,forexampleifanimportantpurposeofastatisticalreleaseistomonitorperformanceagainstapolicyobjective.Althoughthiscanbeachallengingarea,statisticalreleasesandcommentaryshouldexcludestatementswhichcouldbeinterpretedaspoliticalcomment;forexamplecommentsonwhetherthestatisticsshowthataparticularpolicyisorisnotjustified,orwhetherapolicyhasbeensuccessful.Ifindoubt,therelevantHeadofProfessionshouldbeconsulted.


49. Wherestatisticalpress noticesareissued,itmaybeappropriatetoseekguidancefrompressofficersoneffectivepresentationtothemedia.Headlinesortextwhichcouldbeviewedaspartialorsensationalistmustbeavoided.Editorialcontroloverthecontentandfindingsreportedinstatisticalpressnoticesisamatterreservedsolelyforstatisticalprofessionals,withtheHeadofProfessionhavingthefinalsayoverthepresentationofstatisticalresults.

50. Attempttoachievebalanceinthepresentationofthedatainstatisticalpressnotices.Disregardpressuretofocuson‘goodnews’pointstosatisfystakeholders,andavoidthetemptationtofocuson‘badnews’pointstomaximisemediapublicity.

51. Whereverpossible,thenameandcontactdetailsoftheresponsiblestatisticianshouldbeincludedinthestatisticalreleasepackage.Ifthisisnotpossible,thenthenameoftheHeadofProfession(ortheequivalentleadofficialinanorganisation)shouldbeincluded.


Published information to accompany statistics

Principle2,Practice5: PublishdetailsofanyexemptionfromthepracticesoftheCode,asagreedbytheUKStatisticsAuthority.


...Provideastatementexplainingthenature and extent of revisions at the sametimethattheyarereleased.

Principle4,Practice1:(part):

…Publishdetailsofthemethodsadopted,includingexplanationsofwhyparticularchoicesweremade.

Principle4,Practice6: PromotecomparabilitywithintheUKandinternationallyby,forexample,adoptingcommonstandards,concepts,samplingframes,questions,definitions,statistical units and classifications (includingcommongeographicreferencingandcodingstandards).Makethereasonsforanydeviationsfromstandardmodelspubliclyavailable.

Principle8,Practice1: Provideinformationonthequalityandreliabilityofstatisticsinrelationtotherangeofpotentialuses,andonmethods,procedures,andclassifications.

52. ForNationalStatistics,andwherepossibleotherofficialstatistics,statisticalauthorsshouldexplainanyagreeddeparturesfromthepracticesintheCodewhichimpactonthepresentationofstatistics.Suchdeparturesshouldbecleared at Head of Profession level and Heads of Profession shouldensurethattheNationalStatisticianisinformed.

53. Informationonthemethodsandclassificationsusedinproducingofficialstatistics(oftenreferredtoasmetadata)shouldbeavailableandaccessiblefromtheassociatedstatistical release8.

8 ForfurtherinformationpleaserefertotheNational Statistician’s Guidance: Quality, Methods and Harmonisation,paragraphs54and55.


54. Informationonthequalityandreliabilityofstatisticsisoftenpresentedusingqualityoutputmeasures,withacoresetofmeasuresincludedinfirstreleases9.

55. Takecarenottoobscurekeymessageswithtechnicaldetail.Insomecasesthisinformationmaybeincludedineitherthestatisticalnewsreleaseorthestatisticalpublicationitself.

56. Forfurtherguidanceonthecontentofpublishedinformationthatshouldaccompanyofficialstatistics,pleaserefertothe National Statistician’s Guidance: Quality, Methods and Harmonisation.

Pricing

Principle2,Practice8: Releaseallregularstatisticalreportsontheinternetwithoutchargetotheuser.

Principle2,Practice9: Foranysupplementarystatisticalservicesforwhichachargeismade,adoptclearpricingpoliciesthatcomplywithlegislationandrelevantpolicy.

57. Pricingshouldcomplywithlegislationandwidergovernmentpolicy,andprovidefairvalue.

9 ForfurtherinformationpleaserefertotheNational Statistician’s Guidance: Quality, Methods and Harmonisation,paragraph56.


58. Asfaraspossible,thepriceofofficialstatisticsshouldnotbeabarriertoaccess.Thekeyprinciplesarethat:

i. HeadlineNationalStatisticsoutputsandotherinformationofbroadandgeneralinterestwillbefreeonthe Internet

ii. Accesstounderlyingdatamayincurchargeswhereitislikelytobeonlyofspecialistinterestandtoinvolveextraprocessingandsecuritymeasures

iii. Whereauthorised,accesstoidentifiabledatamayincurachargeformanaginganyarrangementsnecessarytoprotect the confidentiality of the data

iv. PricingforNationalStatisticsproductswillconformeithertolegislationandwidergovernmentpolicies,ortoanindividualorganisation’schargingpolicy,whicheverisappropriate.GuidelinesonchargingissuedbyHMTreasuryand(ifappropriate)instructionsonCrownCopyrightissuedbyHMStationeryOfficeshouldalsobeconsulted

59. Publicationsinprintorotherphysicalmediawillnormallybepricedtorecovernomorethanthecostofmanufacture,marketinganddistribution.Thepublicationpricewillnormallyexcludethecostofcorebusinessactivities,includingdatacollectionandprocessing.

60. Tailoreddataservicescarriedoutattherequestofaspecificnon-governmentusermaybechargedtorecovercostsinfull,includingproductdevelopmentandanydedicatedcollectionandprocessing.Insomecasestheseservicesmaybechargedataprofit,wheretheyarecarriedoutinacommercialenvironment.Costsmaybemitigatedwheretherequireddataareavailable,thoughnotpublished.Costsmaybefurthermitigated,andinsomecasestheworkmaybefree,wheretheresponsibleHeadofProfessionjudgestheretobeasignificantbenefittotheUKstatisticalsystem,ortothewidercommunity.


annex a

Pre-release access for Quality assurance

Ifunpublishedstatisticsareprovidedtoanexternalreviewerforqualityassuranceorpeerreviewitisimperativethattherecipientunderstandsthatanyinformationdisclosedinthiswaymustnotbeused,quotedorsharedwithotherspriortoitsofficialrelease.

Suggestedwordingforinclusioninacoveringnote:

Thankyouforagreeingtoreviewtheattachedstatistics.Astheyarenotyetofficiallyreleased,accesstothemneedstobecarefullymanaged.

Anyinformationintheattachedmustnotbeused,quotedorsharedwithotherspriortoitsofficialrelease.Anyaccidentalorwrongfulreleasemustbereportedimmediately.Thisincludesindicationsofthecontentorconclusions,includingdescriptionssuchas‘favourable’or‘unfavourable’.

Pleasepreventinappropriateusebytreatingthisinformationaseither‘Protected’or‘Restricted’,asappropriate.

Date post:	22-Jun-2020
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