Update on housing data collections and statistical outputs, 2022-23

It is essential that the housing statistics collected and published by the Welsh Government are accurate and timely to ensure that policies can be developed and monitored effectively.

However, in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a prolonged impact on our data collection/publication arrangements. Many of the regular housing data collections and statistical outputs produced by the Welsh Government were cancelled or postponed during 2020-21 and then subsequently restarted during 2021-22.

In drafting the data collection/publication timetable for 2022-23, careful consideration was given to when data on various topics was needed during the year, the burden placed on data providers and the data collection team, as well as how the order affects the validation between different collections. 

For the 2022-23 timetable (data collections relating to the 2021-22 period), we are proposing the following:

• An annual homelessness collection will be undertaken with some data tables removed. No quarterly data will be requested during 2022-23. This is the same approach as adopted for the previous year’s annual data collection. This proposal is for 2021-22 data only and will be reviewed for future years.
• New house build data will only be collected annually for the 2021-22 period. No quarterly annual data breakdown for 2021-22 will be requested. For the 2022-23 financial year, we will re-commence the quarterly annual data collections for local authorities only. The first collection will commence in July 2022 covering the April to June 2022 period.
• The monthly homelessness accommodation / rough sleeper data collection of management information will continue until at least March 2023 (local authorities only).

The detailed data collection timetable for 2022-23 is outlined in the table below:

Note that data collections scheduled during the second half of the financial year are currently under review. This may include a reduced data requirement but will not include any additional information to that requested in previous years. We will keep you informed of any changes.

The data collection team and the housing statistics team within the Welsh Government are currently in discussions with policy colleagues to determine ongoing evidence requirements and agree a data submission/publication timetable for 2023-24 (capturing data for the 2022-23 period).

Further updates will be provided to HIG as and when they are available.