The Code of Practice for Statistics

About the Code

What is the Code of Practice for Statistics and who is it for?

Official statistics serve the public good when, as public assets, they provide insight that allows them to be used widely for informing understanding and shaping action. The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) sets the standards that those producing official statistics should apply to deliver statistics that serve the public good, in line with section 10 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. But the Code is not just for official statistics. Everyone can apply or draw on the Code. It can help show what is needed to have confidence in data, analysis and statistics, whether as a user of information or as a producer of information. The Code is based on the core principles of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value (TQV), which are introduced in the section Understanding TQV. TQV is a useful framework for analysts and organisations both inside and outside of government. The Code Principles unpack TQV and help anyone using data and producing statistics to work in a way that allows others to have confidence in their commitment to delivering the best possible outputs. The Standards for Official Statistics set out the specific standards and practices related to each Code principle that producers of official statistics must follow to ensure that official statistics serve the public good and support public confidence. Closely related are standards that help ensure public bodies use statistics, data and wider analysis transparently, and with integrity, clarity and accuracy. The Standards for the Public Use of Statistics, Data and Wider Analysis describe the three standards and related practices that all public bodies should meet when communicating statistics, data and wider analysis in the public domain.

Guidance

A set of short guides is available to support the use of the Code Principles and the Standards for Official Statistics. These are helpful for any producer of statistics, providing a wide range of resources relevant to each area of practice. Guidance – Ensuring Public Accountability outlines a model for public accountability that we expect official statistics producers to apply and encourage any producers that publish statistics to adopt, including those who voluntarily apply the Code. Guidance on the Standards for the Public Use of Statistics, Data and Wider Analysis helps anyone working within public bodies to understand their role in ensuring statistics, data and wider analysis are communicated in an open way and to apply the standards in their work. Guidance – Required policies and statements relating to official statistics production provides a list of the organisational policy documents and statements, relating to official statistics production, required in the Code of Practice for Statistics edition 3.0. The Glossary of Terms provides explanations of key terms used within the Code of Practice for Statistics. Further detailed guidance is available from OSR on applying Trustworthiness, Quality and Value.

Key definitions and important information

Official Statistics

Official statistics provide information that helps us understand economic, social and environmental issues at all levels of society. They are statistics produced by Crown bodies and other organisations listed within an Official Statistics Order, on behalf of the UK Government or the devolved governments. The Code of Practice sets the standards for the production of official statistics. Official statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). The Standards for Official Statistics in the Code set out OSR’s expectations of statistics and the people and organisations that produce them. Official statistics with the label and badge of ‘accredited official statistics’ (AOS) are statistics for which OSR has conducted an independent review, called an assessment, and judged to comply with the Standards for Official Statistics. ‘Accredited official statistics’ are called ‘National Statistics’ in section 12 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The accreditation may be removed by OSR where practice later fails to comply with the standards of the Code. The list of Accredited Official Statistics is a comprehensive list of all official statistics that OSR has assessed and accredited. ‘Official statistics in development’ is a temporary label used to indicate where new or existing official statistics are being developed and tested with users, in line with the standards of Trustworthiness, Quality, and Value. Even though official statistics in development are going through development and testing, a producer that chooses to label statistics as such must be confident that they provide insight that informs understanding of a given topic and can help shape action.

The Office for Statistics Regulation and the Code

The Code is maintained by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority. The Statistics Registration and Service Act 2007 requires the Authority to publish and maintain a code of practice. OSR maintains policies related to the Code of Practice for Statistics that guide our regulatory work – for further information see the OSR policy webpage.