Dear Michael
Assessment of Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA): England statistics
Thank you for inviting us to assess the NHS Business Service Authority’s Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA): England statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics. We have completed the assessment and have today published our Assessment Report covering these statistics. I am grateful for the positive contribution and engagement from you and your team through the assessment process, especially over recent months at this particularly challenging time. We judge that the PCA statistics can maintain National Statistics designation once we have confirmed that the improvements outlined in the six requirements set out in the report have been made.
During our assessment we found that the PCA statistics are a valued, long-standing and robust data source used by a range of expert users. As a new official statistics producer, we are encouraged to see that the team has established links in the wider Government Statistical Service (GSS), having already sought advice from other statistics producers and the GSS Good Practice Team. We would emphasise the importance of this support as you look to fulfil the requirements of our report.
I am grateful for your commitment to publish an action plan in November 2020, setting out your plans to meet the requirements. Your team will then report back to us by 28 February 2021, outlining how those requirements have been addressed.
I am copying this letter to Michael Brodie, CEO of NHSBSA, and to Stephen Balchin, Head of Profession for Statistics at the Department for Health and Social Care.
Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation
Related Links:
Nina Monckton to Ed Humpherson: Requesting assessment of the prescription cost analysis (March 2020)
Ed Humpherson to Nina Monckton: Assessment of Prescription Cost Analysis (March 2020)
Assessment Report: Statistics on Prescription Cost Analysis: England