Authority Assessment: One year on Neil Jackson UK Statistics Authority

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Authority AssessmentOne year onNeil
JacksonUK Statistics Authority
Scotstat Annual Conference, 1 Nov 2010
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Coverage of presentation

• Assessment and Trustworthiness
• Published Assessment Reports
• Impact of assessment
• Emerging findings
• Forward plans

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Designation

• Statistics
• Meet identified user needs
• Are produced, managed and disseminated to high
  standards
• Are well explained

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Published Assessment Reports
Scottish Government 9
Information Services Division 5
Northern Ireland 5
Welsh Assembly Government 3
UK Government Departments 26
Office for National Statistics 10
Other 7
Total 65
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Published reports for Scottish Government
Recorded Crime in Scotland Jun-09
The Scottish Health Survey Sep-09
Scottish House Condition Survey Sep-09
Scottish Crime and Justice Survey Sep-09
Statistics on Children Looked After by Local Authorities in Scotland Oct-09
Scottish Household Survey outputs Dec-09
Scottish Labour Market Statistics Dec-09
Schools for Scotland Jul-10
Statistics on Transport in Scotland Oct-10
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Other published reports for Scotland
Statistics on Cancer in Scotland May-10
Statistics on Cancer Screening in Scotland May-10
Statistics on NHS Scotland Workforce May-10
NHS Waiting times, Scotland Jul-10
Statistics on Prescribing in Scotland Oct-10

Special Assessment of the 2011 Censuses in the UK Phase 1 Mar-10
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Requirements made in first 50 Assessment reports
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Emerging Findings

• Need for more systematic engagement with users
• Needs a clearer understanding of the uses made of
  official statistics
• Better documentation of strengths and weaknesses
  of statistics in relation to their uses
• Scope to enhance the presentation of the
  statistics and the accompanying commentary

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Principle 1 Meetings User Needs

• Practice 1 Engage effectively with users of
  statistics to promote trust and maximise public
  value
• Practice 2 Investigate and document the needs of
  users of official statistics, the use made of
  existing statistics and the types of decisions
  they inform

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Recommendations from Strengthening User Engagement

• National Statistician to lead consultations on
  how best to use web technology to enhance the
  accessibility of official statistics
• Improve communications between statistical
  experts and journalists
• A web-based forum to enable users to communicate
  more easily and openly
• Producers to work more actively with the
  Statistics Users Forum

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Website

• Statistics Authority
• http//www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/

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Questions?