How they are produced

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses a combination of census, surveys and administrative sources to produce its data. Teams of statisticians, researchers and analysts produce series of data to inform users in their particular area of expertise.

Statistics produced by ONS adhere to a strict code of practice introduced in 2000 to set a standard of best practice which any series of statistics must pass to qualify for the National Statistics kitemark of quality.

Quality is the cornerstone of good practice and includes:

  • relevance
  • accuracy
  • timeliness
  • coherence
  • comparability
  • accessibility

Reliability and transparency are essential components for evidenced-based societies to make the best decisions.

Examples of surveys and sources are:

  • the ten-yearly census (next due in 2011). The census is probably the biggest  peacetime project carried out by the Government, involving, as it does, reaching  out to every person and every home in the country to build the most  comprehensive and accurate picture of the population and its composition. The census sticks to strict rules of confidentiality to ensure that no individual or family’s personal data are available to anyone else other than census officials for at least 100 years
  • business surveys – companies are required by law to provide information about  their businesses which help ONS provide various series of data that help build a  picture of the economy
  • household surveys – a sample of households across the country are asked to take part in a number of economic and social surveys. These can range from labour surveys through to surveys on drinking and smoking. ONS is merging five of the main surveys by 2009 to form a new Integrated Household Survey (IHS). This will  be largest ever continuous survey to be conducted in this country involving around 200,000 independent household interviews each year. The set of core questions asked will take about 15 minutes to answer with further questions from one of five modules – work, lifestyle, expenditure, housing, or opinion.ONS employs its own field force of around 700 household survey interviewers including a telephone-contact unit 
  • administrative sources – data are collected in a number of other formal ways from information required – for example the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance