You asked
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from the ONS National Accounts team:
Which data sources are used in constructing the balance of gross primary income (B.5g) for the Household and NPISH sector in the Blue Book (tables 6.1.3/6.2.3) for the most recent year, and as far back as possible?
Which data sources are used for estimating the components of "social benefits, other than transfers in kind" (D.62) in the secondary distribution of income account for the Household and NPISH sector (tables 6.1.4/6.2.4 of the Blue Book) for the most recent year, and as far back as possible?
Where can Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments made by the government be found in the Blue Book? The secondary distribution of income account for General Government (table 5.2.4S) illustrates a breakdown of government expenditures, but under which category are ESA benefit payments made to households counted?
Should this request exceed the cost limit, then I would be grateful if you could prioritise answers to all questions, just for the most recent year.
We said
Thank you for your request.
In response to the questions raised please find following the sources of information and detail requested:
Which data sources are used in constructing the balance of gross primary income (B.5g) for the Household and NPISH sector in the Blue Book (tables 6.1.3/6.2.3) for the most recent year, and as far back as possible?
The main source of information for Households varies across the different measures.
B2.g - For Household Gross Operating Surplus the main components are Imputed rental, supplied through the Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HHFCE) team using sources from the Living Cost and Food (LCF) survey plus energy and water suppliers, Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured from the Bank of England, Insurance information provided by the British Insurers Association and Imputed construction of fixed capital from ONS' Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) survey.
B3.g - For Mixed Income the main data sources are self-assessment data, rental income and estimates of evasion and vat fraud - these are supplied by HMRC. Holding gains and work-in-progress data used are produced by ONS' Quarterly Stocks Inquiry (QSI). Various other elements include, computer software, provided by ONS' Quarterly Acquisitions and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey Quarterly Acquisitions and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey (QCAS), consumption of fixed capital from ONS' Gross Fixed Capital Formation Survey (GFCF). Smuggling, drugs, prostitution are derived estimates using varying sources, including ONS' LCF and HMRC, Home Office and administrative sources, supplied to the HHFCE team within ONS
D1 - For Compensation of Employees data are mostly provided by HMRC PAYE and Benefits in Kind for the private sector, supplemented with Central Government public sector information taken from HMT's On-line System for Central Accounting and Reporting (OSCAR) system (previously COINs pre 2012). Furthermore, Agriculture Industry information is provided by DEFRA. In periods where data is not available, e.g. HMRC provide annual information, Labour markets estimates are used, including the Average Weekly Earnings and the Labour Force Survey to forecast the latest quarters. Juveniles pay and pay below the deduction card limit are sourced for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The main data sources for Employers actual social contributions are: National Insurance Contributions from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) and is supplied by HMRC, also Income in kind benefits from HMRC
P.119 - FISIM are supplied by BoE from the Profit & Loss Survey
D.41- Interest are supplied by the Bank of England (BoE) alongside Bonds data that has been used post 2018. Bonds data pre-2018 were provided by the London Stock Exchange (LSE), whereas these data are now used in conjunction with BoE bonds information and data from ONS' Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS). British Government stocks are supplied by BoE and the Debt Management Office (DMO)
D.421 - Dividends sources are from BoE, ONS' Foreign Direct Investment survey (FDI) and external administrative data of shareholders, plus information from the Financial Times
D4.22 – Withdrawals from Income source information is provided by the English Housing Survey [EHS], and prior to this the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [ODPM]'s Survey of English housing [SEH] and external administrative sources.
D.423 - Earnings on property source include ONS' Financial Assets and Liabilities survey (FALS), the LSE and ONS' Financial Inquiries (FI) survey
D.441 – Insurance regulatory data are provided by the Association of British Insurers and Lloyds of London.
D.442 – Payable on pension entitlements data are sourced through ONS surveys; Pension Protection Fund (PPF); HMRC; Regulatory data (Financial Conduct Authority/Prudential Regulation Authority/The Pensions Regulator); and Local Government & Crown Guarantee Data; Funded pension schemes from HMT Insurer provided and self-administered pension schemes come from ONS' Financial Inquiries; Unfunded pension schemes from HMTs OSCAR and other Gov departments.
D.443 - Distributed income of corporations are sourced from various providers including ONS surveys (including unit trusts; property unit trusts; investment trusts; insurance, pensions); Investment Association; company accounts; and rates of return from basket of investments.
D.45 - Rent data are provided by DEFRA and the devolved administrations.
For NPISH further, and the main data sources include Charities - National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Trade Unions – Certification Office, Political Parties – Electoral Commission, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Further education colleges from HMT's OSCAR.
Which data sources are used for estimating the components of "social benefits, other than transfers in kind" (D.62) in the secondary distribution of income account for the Household and NPISH sector (tables 6.1.4/6.2.4 of the Blue Book) for the most recent year, and as far back as possible?
Again, there are various source used for these transactions
D.621 - Social security benefits in cash – ONS' Financial Inquiries Surveys plus for Central Government information, a combination of HMRC data and departmental and devolved administrations data taken from the HM Treasury OSCAR database
Other social benefit and Social assistance benefits in cash - For D.622 and D.623, the source is the HM Treasury OSCAR database. We have been using OSCAR since the 2012-13 financial year. Previous to that we used the HM Treasury COINS (Combined Online Information System) database.
The Local Government's components of household cover police and fire pensions. Police data was previously sourced from the Home Office source data, however this ceased from 2011/12. For fire we use an annual Home Office Fire Statistics publication which covers England – the devolved administrations are estimated as they don't collect or publish these numbers.
Where can Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments made by the government be found in the Blue Book? The secondary distribution of income account for General Government (table 5.2.4S) illustrates a breakdown of government expenditures, but under which category are ESA benefit payments made to households counted?
There are two elements of employment and support allowance payments. The D.621 (social security benefits in cash) element feeds into series CUNL (incapacity benefits) within Table 5.2.4S. The D.623 (social assistance benefits in cash) element feeds into EKY7 (other benefits) within Table 5.2.4S.