New Producers of Official Statistics in Scotland

Scottish Government Statistics Policy

Scottish Government Statistics Policy

UK Statistics Authority and Code of Practice

Scottish Government Statistics

Most of the statistics produced and published by the Scottish Government are National Statistics. This is the name for official statistics which have been assessed for compliance with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The primary aim of official statistics in Scotland is to provide an accurate up-to-date comprehensive and meaningful picture of the economy and society to support the formulation and monitoring of economic and social policies by government and others.

Non-Government Producers of Official Statistics in Scotland

The Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008 added three additional bodies - those public bodies which were already producing National Statistics:

Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Student Loans Company

Ten further public bodies have since been brought into scope through the 2010 and 2012 Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Orders.

The Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order (2010):

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
Scottish Natural Heritage.

Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order (2012):

Care Inspectorate
NHS 24
Scottish Ambulance Service
Scottish Social Services Council
Sustrans

Further Amendment

It is planned that the Order will be amended in Summer 2013 to name some additional bodies as producers. ASDs are in the process of establishing with Crown and other public bodies:

1.1 which figures, if any, produced by the body potentially fall into the category of official statistics

1.2 what arrangements need to be put in place to comply with the Act.

Guidance for New Producers of Official Statistics in Scotland

This section provides guidance and other information for public bodies producing and publishing statistics under official statistics procedures in Scotland.

Official statistics producers should aim to meet the requirements of the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics and the Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Order where possible. The following document provides some practical guidance on the key requirements of the code and order.

Guidance for Public Bodies Publishing Official Statistics in Scotland

The Scottish Government has twice held seminars for producers of official statistics in Scotland. On the 24th February 2011 and 26th April 2012. The slides used during these seminar are available below.

24th February 2011 - 'Official Statistics New Producers' Seminar'. Code of practice, pre-release access, the support available from Scottish Government, how official statistics become National Statistics and the role of the UK Statistics Authority.
26th April 2012 - 'An Introduction to Producing Official Statistics'. Code of practice, pre-release access, the support available from the Scottish Government, the Ministerial relationship with official statistics and the role of the UK Statistics Authority.

Some further useful information is available via the links below.

UK Statistics Authority and the Code of Practice
UK National Statistician - The UK National Statistician is the UK Statistics Authority's and the UK Government's principal adviser on official statistics.
UK National Statistician Guidance Booklets
Scotstat - A network for users and providers of Scottish official statistics. It aims to improve communication amongst those interested in particular statistics and to facilitate the setting up of working groups on specific statistical issues

A note on good practice in user engagement is available via the link below. User engagement is an essential element of statistics production.

Good practice in user engagement

Data linking and sharing

Scottish ministers have agreed a policy to maximize the value of public data by sharing data and linking data from different sources wherever possible. To assist in streamlining this process whilst protecting public confidentiality under the requirements of the Data Protection Act, a framework for data linkage has been established.

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