Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Our statistics are produced in line with the Standards for Official Statistics, and the wider Code of Practice for Statistics – which sets the standards and practices for production of statistics. Our commitment to compliance with the Code aims to provide our users with confidence in the statistics we produce.

Not all statistics we publish will be official statistics. In determining whether statistics are official statistics, we consider the Code, other guidance from the Government Statistical Service and consult with the Office for Statistics Regulation. Where we have determined that statistics are not official statistics, we apply appropriate areas of the Code as far as is possible. 

This statement sets out how the statistics produced by Welsh Government demonstrate the standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value – the three core principles of the Code of Practice. Alongside this, each statistical report includes specific details on how that set of statistics complies with the Code of Practice.

Trustworthiness 

Confidence in the people and organisations that produce statistics and data

Our statistics are pre-announced and published in an open, transparent and orderly way, in line with our release practices protocol. 

Our statistics are produced by government statisticians and analysts under the leadership of the Chief Statistician. We work independently of Ministers and policy officials, with autonomy in deciding the content, methods and release times of statistics. 

Our statement on revisions, errors and postponements sets out the processes we follow where we need to delay a particular output, or revise or correct an error in a published output. 

We take seriously our responsibility of holding all our data and statistics in a safe and secure manner. This is explained more in our data management strategy. Our statement on confidentiality and data access sets out how we keep the data we use to underpin official statistics secure, respect individuals' rights to privacy and enable other people to use our data responsibly.

Quality

Data and methods that produce assured statistics

The quality of Welsh Government statistics is important to ensure that they are fit for purpose for our users’ needs. People who use our statistics should have confidence in the quality of our statistical services and products and as such we endeavour to work to high standards of quality as set out in our Statistical Quality Management Strategy. The strategy includes the following quality objectives.

1. To ensure staff are trained in effective quality assurance and quality management.
2. To encourage staff to apply intellectual curiosity, question their data and take ownership of the quality assurance for which they are responsible.
3. To publish appropriate quality reports or indicators for our statistics.
4. To conduct regular reviews of our processes and the outputs we produce, ensuring we work with data providers to understand the end-to-end processes.

Our aim is to ensure that our statistics are accurate, reliable, coherent and timely. We consider the strengths and limitations of the data and methods used to produce our statistics in relation to the different user needs for our statistics. All our statistics are produced with supporting quality information, giving background to the data and methodology used, and the quality of the estimates produced, explaining any associated uncertainty.

We sometimes publish statistics as “official statistics in development” when using new methods or exploring new data sources. We clearly label these statistics as in development in order to be transparent about strengths and limitations, and to seek feedback from users. 

Value

Statistics that support society’s needs for information

The Code of Practice outlines that users should be at the centre of decision making about our statistics, to give the public confidence that statistics are relevant and useful. Our user engagement strategy outlines our approach to engaging, consulting and informing users, alongside our statement on customer service and complaints.

We regularly review our portfolio of statistics and the content of statistical publications to consider their relevance, timeliness, clarity and accessibility. We use analytics and feedback from users to continually improve and prioritise how we meet user needs.

As set out in the release practices protocol, we aim to present statistics clearly, impartially and in formats that meet the needs of our range of users. We publish statistics and analysis in formats such as reports, StatsWales datasets, dashboards, social media posts and blogs.

We strive to make our statistics accessible and freely available to all.

As an organisation we strive to apply the Standards for Public Use of Statistics, Data and Wider Analysis in the way we communicate and use information.

Equality of access

We aim to ensure that public statements are drawn from reliable sources, including the latest published official statistics. Statistics are released separately from policy or Ministerial statements. If a public statement uses unpublished statistics, the statistics are published soon after using our ad hoc statistical release process.

Supporting understanding

We strive to ensure that statistics are always presented clearly and accurately, so as not to mislead. Public communications such as press releases provide the source of any statistics used in the statement. Strengths, limitations and context are clearly communicated in the source statistics and alongside statistics that are published as part of our communications material. 

Decision making and leadership

Statisticians, under the leadership of the Chief Statistician, provide impartial, expert advice within the Welsh Government on the use of statistics. They promote the use of the Code across the organisation.

The Chief Statistician is invited to give an annual update to the Welsh Government’s Executive Committee (chaired by the Permanent Secretary) on compliance with the Code of Practice and other official statistics matters.

The Ministerial Code states that Ministers need to be mindful of the Code of Practice for Statistics and have regard to the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics (Wales) Order 2009.