Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation writes to Glyn Jones, Chief Statistician, Welsh Government.
Dear Glyn,
CONFIRMATION OF NATIONAL STATISTICS DESIGNATION FOR STATISTICS FROM THE WELSH HOUSING CONDITIONS SURVEY
We have reviewed the actions that you and your team have taken to address the Requirements in Assessment Report number 338: Statistics from the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey.
On behalf of the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, I am pleased to confirm the designation of statistics from the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey, including the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey 2017-18: Headline Report.
I welcome the way in which your team has engaged with the principles and practices of the Code of Practice and the assessment team, particularly because the assessment was conducted alongside the development and production of statistics, and the team had limited resources available.
I recognise the commitment the team showed to quickly make improvements to the statistics to increase their quality and value following the publication of our Assessment Report. For instance, the shorter Headline report with a stronger focus on the key messages better supports users’ interpretation of the statistics, and the more detailed information about quality assurance and surveyor variability helps users better understand quality.
I am also satisfied with your assurance that you will use the lessons learned from the first phase of the Housing Conditions Evidence Programme to inform resourcing for the next phase, and that you will adopt a more flexible resource allocation model to prioritise key work strands.
We have included more detail about our judgement in an annex to this letter. I, or my team, would be very happy to talk you or your colleagues through any aspects of this letter or Code compliance more generally.
National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value and is something to be celebrated. We invite you to include a statement alongside the statistics which reflects the National Statistics status.
I am copying this letter to John Pullinger, the National Statistician.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Humpherson
Related links:
Ed Humpherson to Glyn Jones (October 2018)
Statistics from the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey (October 2018)