What we want to achieve in 2023/24
Support and challenge producers to innovate, collaborate and build resilience
In 2022-3 we saw growing evidence of transformation in the statistics system, responding in innovative ways to emerging areas of user need, including on health, the cost of living and the Ukraine war. Alongside this, we saw challenges to resilience and to the quality of statistics.
In 2023-24, we will champion and support statistics producers to build on the innovation, collaboration and resilience they have displayed during the last few years. Our regulatory activities will see us promoting the sharing, linking and reuse of data. We will support statistics producers to maximise the value of their data and statistics through increased innovation and more collaboration. We will also focus on activities which will support statistics producers to develop and build resilience.
Examples of priority activities supporting the production, use and value of statistics will include:
- Increased scrutiny of economic statistics
- Data Sharing and Linkage review
- State of the Statistical System 2022/23 report
- ONS Transformation programmes (Population, Labour Market and Household financial surveys)
- Code of Practice 5-Year Review
Champion the effective communication of statistics to support society’s key information needs
In 2022-23, we continued to respond to concerns about the use of statistics, through our casework function. This highlighted the importance of continuing to improve how statistics are communicated to users – including how to address misinformation, how to communicate uncertainty, and how to understand the public good provided by statistics.
How statistics are used can impact public confidence as much as how they are produced. In 2023-4 we will continue to champion the transparent release and use of data and statistics and argue for accurate and timely statistics to be available on the topics that matter most. Our regulatory activities will see us focus on how statistics producers communicate uncertainty, and how they mitigate and manage misuse of statistics and data. We will also focus our work on activities which support statistics producers to engage with, understand and meet the varying needs of a wide range of users of data and statistics. Examples of priority activities will include:
- Intelligent Transparency
- Communicating statistics programme
- Research on use of statistics in decision making
- Comparability across the UK
- Police Recorded Crime (England and Wales) review
- Sex and Gender in data and statistics programme
- National Statistics Designation refresh
Build partnerships to champion good practice principles for data and analysis that inform the public
In 2022-23 we adopted an ambitious objective of widening our reach – raising awareness of the principles of good statistical practice within the Government’s analysis function, the senior leadership of Government departments, and in other types of organisation too. We identified a number of organisations with a common interest in promoting these principles.
In 2023-24, we will continue our work outside of official statistics, building on and developing new relationships beyond official statistics production. Our focus will be on working in partnership with organisations, and with teams within government departments, who are not official statistics producers, but who produce and communicate data and analysis that are used in the public domain. These types of data and analysis are often likely to be perceived and used by others as if they are official statistics. We will continue our engagement with data influencers and data users to support us with this focus. This will be supported by continuing to work with organisations beyond official statistics to voluntarily apply our standards of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value, to enhance public confidence in statistics and data. Examples of priority activities will include:
- Voluntary Application Programme
- Statistical and Analytical Leadership
- Public Good Thought Leadership