The government began a user engagement exercise on proposals to reduce the collections of data relating to local government finance. Views were invited to be submitted by 19 September 2014.
Source: DCLG User Engagement Reductions to Local Government Finance statistical collections, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2014-Aug
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on police recorded crime statistics.
Source: Caught Red-Handed: Why we can't count on Police Recorded Crime statistics, Cm 8910, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report presented early findings from the data submitted by local authorities as part of the first round of submissions for the Family Monitoring Data element of the national evaluation of the Troubled Families programme. It said that the data was in its very early stages, that it was of varying quality, and that there was some uncertainty as to whether the data was representative of all troubled families going through the programme.
Source: Ecorys UK, National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme: Interim report – Family Monitoring Data, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Report | DCLG press release
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined the measurement of well-being, as developed by the Office for National Statistics' Measuring National Well-Being project. Drawing on analysis of data from the first wave of Understanding Society, it questioned the division of the United Kingdom into 36 regions, given that there was hardly any variation of life-satisfaction found at the regional level. The article presented an alternative way of engaging with the cross-regional analysis.
Source: Jan Eichhorn, 'Where happiness varies: recalling Adam Smith to critically assess the UK government project Measuring National Well-Being', Sociological Research Online, Volume 19 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2014-Jul
A report provided the results of a review of patient information released by the National Health Service Information Centre, the predecessor organization to the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The report concluded that there had been significant administrative lapses in recording the release of data and, in some cases, the decision-making process had been unclear and records of decisions incomplete. The report made a range of recommendations to remedy issues arising from past releases and to manage and record more systematically the future release of data.
Source: Data Release Review, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Links: Report | Summary | HSCIC press release
Date: 2014-Jun
An article highlighted the utility of a more detailed analysis of crime statistics in providing information on the patterns of crime against children, based on Northern Ireland data. It said that violent crime differentially affected older children, and detection rates varied depending on case characteristics. It called for crime-recording practice to make child victims of crime more visible, and to facilitate assessment of the effectiveness of existing initiatives and policy developments.
Source: Lisa Bunting, 'Invisible victims: recorded crime and children in the UK', Child Abuse Review, Volume 23 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that the census was an important source of information about the United Kingdom population and provided important benefits. It outlined the committee's concerns about work conducted to date on replacing the existing decennial model and said that, although changes needed to be made, the alternative options were not sufficiently advanced and the 2021 census should therefore not be cancelled. The report also recommended a public information campaign to outline the government's views on the benefits of increased data sharing for statistical purposes, and the safeguards to protect people's personal information and privacy.
Source: Too Soon to Scrap the Census, Fifteenth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 1090, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Apr
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Home Office, Office for National Statistics, and United Kingdom Statistics Authority had been 'too passive' about concerns raised regarding the police recorded crime figures (PRC), and had repeatedly missed opportunities to ensure the integrity and quality of PRC data. The report said that numerical targets, based on PRC data and set internally, created perverse incentives to misrecord crime, tended to affect attitudes, eroded data quality, and presented officers with potential conflict between achievement of targets and core policing values. It recommended: the re-instatement of the regular external audit of police force crime recording; the discouragement of target setting; and for the Committee on Standards in Public Life to conduct an inquiry into the police's compliance with the new Code of Ethics.
Source: Caught Red-Handed: Why we can't count on Police Recorded Crime statistics, Thirteenth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 760, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | ACPO press release | Police Federation press release
Date: 2014-Apr
The Office for National Statistics published the response to a consultation on user requirements for marriage, divorce, and civil partnership statistics. The statistics were being reviewed following the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which made provision for the marriage of same sex couples in England and Wales. The report outlined the proposed changes to the statistics, to come into effect in 2015.
Source: Summary of Responses and Future Plans: User requirements for marriage, divorce and civil partnership statistics given the introduction of marriage of same sex couples, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | Consultation document | ONS press release
Date: 2014-Apr