Annex: The assessment process

This Assessment was conducted from March to July 2021.

This report was prepared by the Office for Statistics Regulation and approved by the Regulation Committee on behalf of the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, based on the advice of the Director General for Regulation.

The regulatory team – Sarah Whitehead, Effie Roberts and Anna Price – agreed the scope of and timetable for this assessment with representatives of NHSBSA in March 2021. Documentary evidence for the assessment was provided by NHSBSA’s Interim Lead Official for Statistics in March 2021. The regulatory team met with NHSBSA representatives in April and May 2021 and asked a number of exploratory questions as part of our review of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking account of the evidence provided, user views and research performed.

A key part of the assessment was talking to people who use the statistics, to help us understand the current value of the statistics, and where there is the potential to increase this. We approached known and potential users of these statistics and conducted six interviews, in addition to receiving comments from a further two users via email. These users worked within government departments such as the Department of Health and Social Care, commercial organisations, professional health bodies, and as independent consultants.