Dear Emma

We have today published our review: The adequacy of UK-wide comparable statistics and data. This is in response to a recommendation in the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC)’s report Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base, which set out the challenges and opportunities in obtaining comparable data across the four nations of the UK. This issue was also covered in detail in the Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority, led by Professor Denise Lievesley. In addition, two of the four high-level priorities identified by users at the UK Statistics Assembly relate to improving the comparability of data and statistics. These reviews, and the views of users expressed at the UK Statistics Assembly, clearly set out the need for change.

Our review provides recommendations and a framework to help the Government Statistical Service (GSS), led by the Inter-Administration Committee (IAC), to deliver a step change in providing UK-wide comparable statistics and data on agreed priority topics. It highlights four themes with associated recommendations:

• Changing landscape of data sources: The data underpinning UK statistics are changing and there are differences in the governance and legal gateways for data sharing, technological capabilities, and people and financial resources available to support comparable UK statistics and data. It can be challenging for statistics producers operating in different parts of the UK to have similar access to administrative or linked datasets which presents challenges for producing comparable UK-wide statistics based on these data. We recommend a review of the legal frameworks relating to data sharing and access to identify opportunities for legislative changes to level the playing field in data sharing, access and capability across the UK nations.
• Understanding user needs and comparability: Balancing the individual needs of UK countries and local areas with the need for UK-wide comparability is a complex challenge. The UK statistical system must be empowered to provide clear direction and to overcome these challenges where there are identified and agreed needs to do so. We find there is a need to look more widely at user needs beyond government to consider a ‘public good’ lens for UK-wide comparable statistics and data, at international, national, regional and local levels. This can then inform a strategy to produce and maintain comparable UK-wide statistics and data on selected priority measures. Drawing on work by The Fraser of Allander Institute and the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities in 2023, OSR proposes the use of a comparability framework tool to support the system and users better understand current comparability issues, and to prioritise the statistics where comparability should be improved.
• Strengthening strategy and governance: The Concordat on Statistics is the key framework for statistical cooperation across the UK. However, it does not commit the main UK statistics producers to provide comparable UK-wide measures on any specific topic. A strengthened, system-wide strategic and enhanced governance approach will be required to overcome both the longstanding barriers and new challenges to producing comparable UK-wide statistics and data. We recommend a GSS review of the strategic effectiveness of current governance arrangements for comparable statistics across the UK, as part of a strengthened Concordat.
• Overcoming finance and resource barriers: There are differences in the resources, capability and infrastructure available across the UK system to achieve UK-wide comparable statistics and data. We recommend that the GSS, led by the IAC, seeks cross-UK political commitments to adequately finance meaningfully comparable statistics on agreed priority measures at national, regional and local levels. The 2031 Census recommendations provide a focus and opportunities to grasp these issues and initiate such conversations. This should also consider the context of English devolution, the Mayoral Data Council and the services provided by ONS Local.

Given the long-running and complex nature of these issues, our recommendations are challenging and will require careful oversight from the IAC. But in our view, they are all necessary to drive the changes needed to address the issues highlighted in recent reviews and, importantly, meet the needs of statistics users.

I am copying this letter to Stephanie Howarth, Chief Statistician at Welsh Government; Alastair McAlpine, Chief Statistician at Scottish Government, and Phillip Wales, Chief Executive and Registrar General at the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Yours sincerely

Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR