Dear Andrea,
Temporary suspension of accredited official statistics: adult social care activity statistics
Thank you for your letter regarding accredited official statistics in the Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report (ASC-FR) publication. As you explain, these statistics have recently moved from NHS England to the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and you plan to publish these statistics as two separate reports focused on ‘activity’ and ‘finance’.
Given the change in data source for the activity statistics and the work you are carrying out to understand the strengths, limitations and completeness of the new data source, I agree to your request to temporarily suspend accreditation for this publication. I understand you plan to label the publication as Official Statistics in Development while this work is carried out. This approach will make the limitations of the statistics clear to users, supporting appropriate use.
Our Assessment Programme Lead has already confirmed to you that accreditation can remain on the finance report following the change in producer organisation, given there are no changes to the data sources, methods or frequency of the publication.
My team will be happy to engage with you about the most appropriate timing for a review of the adult social care activity report. This will be with a view to reinstating accreditation once you are assured that they fully comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
Related
Andrea Prophet to Ed Humpherson: Adult social care activity and finance report