2.2.6 Data collection and analysis
The GSS provides the UK with most of its official statistics. The GSS works in close cooperation with a number of other organisations that also produce official statistics, such as the Bank of England and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. The GSS is decentralised, as its 600 statisticians and 4,600 administrative staff are employed by and located in over 30 government departments, agencies and associated bodies. The decentralised system ensures that GSS staff work closely with policy makers and that statistical analysis is used to its fullest extent in shaping and monitoring government policy. The ONS is the government department that coordinates much of the work of the GSS, and its Director is also the Head of the GSS.
Official statistics have been collected by government departments in the UK for many years, sometimes for centuries. For example, records on imports and exports go back as far as the 17th century. The first population census was carried out in 1801. Birth and death statistics started in 1837. The first census of earnings was carried out in 1886, and the first official estimate of national income was made in 1941. The Central Statistical Office (CSO) was set up during World War II by the then Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and formed part of the Cabinet Office. The duty of the CSO was to collect regular figures on a well ordered and coherent basis that would be accepted and used without question in ministerial and inter-departmental discussion. In August 1989, the CSO became a separate government department, and in November 1991, it became an Executive Agency. In April 1996, the CSO merged with the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to form the ONS. The purpose of the merger was to meet a widely perceived need for greater coherence and compatibility in government statistics, for improved presentation and for easier public access.
The GSS has no formal basis in law. However, a substantial part of its work is controlled by Acts of Parliament. The GSS mission statement is “To provide Parliament, government and the wider community with the statistical information, analysis and advice needed to improve decision making, stimulate research and inform debate”. GSS activities are formally coordinated through a network of GSS committees. The Policy and Management Committee is chaired by the Head of the GSS and comprises all the senior departmental statisticians. It oversees the work and direction of the GSS. Other subcommittees focus on the areas where GSS standards across departments are most vital: information systems; dissemination; economic statistics; social statistics; and methodology. The ONS has a staff of about 3,000 operating in five locations. It provides the nation with a range of statistical information, including: national accounts; measures of inflation; business statistics; labour market indicators; vital statistics on birth, marriages and deaths; and population estimates and projections. The ONS works in partnership with others in the GSS to provide analyses of social and economic trends, to examine regional trends and profiles, and to monitor the health of the nation. In addition, the ONS is responsible for the registration of births, marriages and deaths. Statistical divisions in other departments produce and provide statistics and analyses related to the work of the department. The Welsh Office and Scottish Office collate, analyse and publish data for their regions in conjunction with the national coverage of other departments. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, together with statisticians in other Northern Ireland departments, works closely with the GSS in the production of United Kingdom statistics.
The Director of Statistics in each department is responsible for the statistical work of that department. Decisions on budgets allocated to statistical work and the publication of statistics are the responsibility of the department, but the Head of the GSS is consulted on more important issues. They have right of access to the Prime Minister, through the Head of the Home Civil Service, on matters concerning the integrity and validity of official statistics, and are regarded as the government’s chief adviser on statistics. When providing advice to other departments, they report to the appropriate departmental minister through the Head of Department. The Head of the GSS is also the Director of the ONS and is fully accountable to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the operation and performance of the Office. In this role, the Director exercises the responsibilities and authorities of a permanent head of a department. The Director is also the Registrar General for England and Wales. This is a statutory office to which the office holder is appointed by Letters Patent. The Registrar General has a number of specific statutory rights and responsibilities in relation to registration matters, the periodic censuses of population, and the collection and publication of certain statistical information. The Registrar General is accountable directly to the courts for some aspects of these responsibilities. The Official Statistics Code of Practice sets out good practices built up by government statisticians, with the aim of promoting high standards and maintaining public confidence in official statistics and analyses. The GSS adheres to these standards and encourages the use of the Code of Practice within other organisations that produce official statistics.
The GSS collects data about individuals, households, businesses and other undertakings through statistical inquiries that are conducted in confidence (sometimes under statutory powers). In the UK, there is no single statistics Act which defines the role and responsibilities of the official statistical service, or which provides the legal framework for compulsory surveys and statistical confidentiality. Instead, there are a number of Acts of Parliament specific to statistics, of which the most significant are the 1920 Census Act, the Population Statistics Act 1938, amended 1960, the Statistics of Trade Act 1947, and the Agricultural Statistics Act 1979. In addition there are a number of other Acts relating to, for example, employment, finance, local government and planning, which contain provisions for the collection of information, or for access to administrative data sources for statistical purposes. Not all relevant legislation affects the UK as a whole, and details of the legislation may differ between parts of the UK. Within the GSS, the ONS is responsible for coordinating reviews of statistical legislation, to ensure that the requirements for the provision of an effective statistical service are met. To ensure that statistics are of adequate quality, some GSS inquiries are compulsory. In those cases, obligations to respond are enshrined in the appropriate law, and any survey must state specifically whether it is compulsory or not. The obligation to respond is backed up by penalties. The same laws are also used to protect the confidentiality of information provided in response to official statistical inquiries. There are penalties for unlawful disclosure. By the nature of its operations, the GSS has access to much sensitive personal and commercial data from administrative sources, and from statutory and voluntary inquiries. The guidance given in the GSS Code of Practice on the Handling of Data Obtained from Statistical Inquiries (Cmnd 9270) aims to ensure that data obtained by inquiry are handled in a way that reflects the confidentiality needs of those who supply them and obey the laws under which they were collected. The Code provides for the transmission, within government and to outside organisations and bona fide researchers, of anonymised data about statistical units, except where there are legal restrictions (as there are generally for data about businesses collected under statute), or where commitments to the contrary have been given. During its collection, storage, processing and transfer, confidentiality of information about identifiable statistical units is safeguarded at all times. The Code reflects the Data Protection Act 1984, which sets down important principles for the handling of automatically processed data relating to individuals, and gives data subjects certain legal rights including that of access to their personal data. The GSS can transfer confidential data to the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) in pursuance of a Community obligation as defined by EC Council Regulation 1588/90. This Regulation requires special arrangements that bind Eurostat to strict confidentiality. Private sector participation in GSS statutory work is limited. However, recent legislation provides greater scope to involve private contractors in statistical work. The Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 enables the removal of barriers to private sector involvement in statutory inquiry work and enables authorised contractors to handle confidential information on behalf of government. In assessing whether private contractors are suitable to carry out such work, an important part of the assessment will be their ability to meet the quality and confidentiality standards required.