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Office for National Statistics follow-up written evidence to Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee (English and Welsh)

Dear Ms Jewell,

Thank you for your letter dated 3 October 2023 following up on several points raised during our meeting with the Committee on 21 September 2023 on the future of population and migration statistics in England and Wales.

Feedback from the 2023 International Census Forum

 The 2023 International Census Forum (ICF) was held in Montreal between 2-5 October. There were representatives in attendance from Canada, the United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, England & Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The subject of language data collection in the Census was raised at this ICF. In particular, there was discussion around how language is collected in the Census and whether any specific challenges had been experienced. Broadly, no country reported experiencing significant difficulties in collection or reporting.

As an example, in the Canadian Census of Population there are four questions on language. These are: can the person speak English or French well enough to conduct a conversation; what language is spoken on a regular basis at home; what language is spoken most often at home; what is the language first learned at home in childhood and still understood.

Countries reported no issues relating to sense of belonging or any other significant issues when comparing Census with Surveys.

As part of the ICF Communities of Practice (CoP) framework, technical working groups exist to carry work forward in a collaborative way. Language collection would come under the data collection CoP and so best practice and approaches will continue to be shared between countries in this working group.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Welsh Government joint work plan on coherence of Welsh language statistics

We recognise the importance of robust data on Welsh language skills for the Welsh Government, to measure progress against the aim of a million Welsh speakers by 2050. We have conducted initial research into the potential of administrative datasets to provide information about Welsh language skills variables, in particular from education sources. This research has suggested that there is comprehensive coverage of Welsh language skills for school age children. However, the administrative sources available do not allow for production of estimates of Welsh speaking at local authority level based on population characteristics such as age and sex.

We recognise that alternative means of data collection may be needed to produce robust Welsh language statistics, for example through government departments’ admin data collection or through surveys. We are keen to work with Welsh government to explore administrative sources further, as well as to explore the use of local data sources to provide this information.

Whilst we work to improve the quality of the administrative data, we will continue to use survey data where required to ensure robust statistics on Welsh language skills are available for policymakers and other data users. We are working closely with Welsh Government colleagues and are jointly conducting an ambitious workplan of research to understand the quality of current data collection sources.

The first results from this workplan have been published and can be found in our joint Differences between estimates of Welsh language ability in Census 2021 and household surveys article. This workplan will continue into 2024 and will help to inform Welsh Government’s response to the National Statistician’s recommendation following the consultation on the future of migration and population statistics in England and Wales.

Please do let us know if you have any other questions, and if we can help the Committee further on either of these topics or any other matters.

Yours sincerely,                                                                                                                

Ruth Studley, Jen Woolford

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Annwyl Ms Jewell,

Diolch am eich llythyr dyddiedig 3 Hydref 2023 yn cymryd camau dilynol mewn perthynas â sawl pwynt a godwyd yn ystod ein cyfarfod gyda’r Pwyllgor ar 21 Medi 2023 ar ddyfodol ystadegau am y boblogaeth a mudo yng Nghymru a Lloegr.

Adborth o Fforwm Cyfrifiad Rhyngwladol 2023

 Cynhaliwyd Fforwm Cyfrifiad Rhyngwladol 2023 yn Montreal rhwng 2 a 5 Hydref. Roedd cynrychiolwyr o Ganada, Unol Daleithiau America, Seland Newydd, Awstralia, Iwerddon, yr Alban, Cymru a Lloegr, a Gogledd Iwerddon yn bresennol.

Cafodd y mater o gasglu data am iaith yn y cyfrifiad ei drafod yn y Fforwm hwn. Yn benodol, cafwyd trafodaeth ynglŷn â sut y caiff gwybodaeth am iaith ei chasglu yn y cyfrifiad ac a oes unrhyw heriau penodol wedi’u nodi. Yn fras, ni nododd unrhyw wlad ei bod wedi cael anawsterau sylweddol wrth gasglu nac adrodd.

Er enghraifft, yng Nghyfrifiad o Boblogaeth Canada, mae pedwar cwestiwn am iaith, sef: a yw’r person yn gallu siarad Saesneg neu Ffrangeg yn ddigon da i gynnal sgwrs; pa iaith a gaiff ei siarad yn rheolaidd yn y cartref; pa iaith a gaiff ei siarad amlaf yn y cartref; pa iaith a gaiff ei dysgu gyntaf yn y cartref yn ystod plentyndod ac sy’n cael ei deall o hyd.

Ni nododd gwledydd unrhyw broblemau mewn perthynas ag ymdeimlad o berthyn nac unrhyw faterion eraill o bwys wrth gymharu’r Cyfrifiad ag Arolygon.

Fel rhan o fframwaith Cymunedau Ymarfer y Fforwm, mae gweithgorau technegol yn bodoli er mwyn symud gwaith yn ei flaen mewn ffordd gydweithredol. Byddai casglu gwybodaeth am iaith yn rhan o’r Gymuned Ymarfer ar gyfer casglu data ac felly bydd arferion gorau a dulliau gweithredu yn parhau i gael eu rhannu rhwng gwledydd yn y gweithgor hwn.

Cynllun gwaith ar y cyd y Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol (y SYG) a Llywodraeth Cymru ar gydlynu ystadegau am y Gymraeg

 Rydym yn cydnabod pa mor bwysig yw cael data cadarn ar sgiliau Cymraeg i Lywodraeth Cymru, er mwyn mesur cynnydd yn erbyn y nod o gael miliwn o siaradwyr erbyn 2050. Rydym wedi gwneud gwaith ymchwil cychwynnol i’r posibilrwydd o ddefnyddio setiau data gweinyddol i ddarparu gwybodaeth am newidynnau sgiliau Cymraeg, ac o ffynonellau addysg yn benodol. Mae’r ymchwil hon wedi awgrymu bod sgiliau Cymraeg plant oedran ysgol yn cael eu cwmpasu’n gynhwysfawr. Fodd bynnag, nid yw’r ffynonellau gweinyddol sydd ar gael yn caniatáu i amcangyfrifon o sgiliau siarad Cymraeg gael eu cynhyrchu ar lefel awdurdod lleol yn seiliedig ar nodweddion y boblogaeth fel oedran a rhyw.

Rydym yn cydnabod y gall fod angen defnyddio dulliau eraill o gasglu data er mwyn cynhyrchu ystadegau cadarn am y Gymraeg, er enghraifft drwy brosesau casglu data gweinyddol adrannau’r Llywodraeth neu drwy arolygon. Rydym yn awyddus i weithio gyda Llywodraeth Cymru i ymchwilio ymhellach i ffynonellau gweinyddol, yn ogystal ag ystyried ffyrdd o ddefnyddio ffynonellau data lleol i ddarparu’r wybodaeth hon.

Wrth i ni weithio i wella ansawdd y data gweinyddol, byddwn yn parhau i ddefnyddio data o arolygon pan fo angen i sicrhau bod ystadegau cadarn am sgiliau Cymraeg ar gael i’r rhai sy’n llunio polisïau a defnyddwyr data eraill. Rydym yn gweithio’n agos gyda chydweithwyr yn Llywodraeth Cymru ac rydym yn cynnal cynllun gwaith ymchwil uchelgeisiol ar y cyd er mwyn deall ansawdd ffynonellau casglu data cyfredol.

Mae canlyniadau cyntaf y cynllun gwaith hwn wedi cael eu cyhoeddi a gellir dod o hyd iddynt yn ein herthygl ar y cyd, Gwahaniaethau rhwng amcangyfrifon o allu yn y Gymraeg yng Nghyfrifiad 2021 ac arolygon aelwydydd. Bydd y cynllun gwaith hwn yn parhau i 2024 a bydd yn helpu i lywio ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i argymhelliad yr Ystadegydd Gwladol yn dilyn yr ymgynghoriad ar ddyfodol ystadegau am y boblogaeth a mudo yng Nghymru a Lloegr.

Rhowch wybod i ni os oes gennych unrhyw gwestiynau eraill, ac os gallwn helpu’r Pwyllgor ymhellach mewn perthynas â’r pynciau hyn neu unrhyw faterion eraill.

Yn gywir,                                                                                                               

Ruth Studley, Jen Woolford

Office for Statistics Regulation written evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s inquiry on the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, and its management, on health and social care in Wales

Dear Dr Lloyd,

I write in response to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s call for evidence for the inquiry considering the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, and its management, on health and social care in Wales.

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority. We provide independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK, including those in Devolved Nations and the NHS. Our regulatory work is underpinned by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

We set the standards official statistics must meet through the statutory Code of Practice for Statistics. We ensure that producers of official statistics uphold these standards by conducting assessments against the Code. Those which meet the standards are given National Statistics status, indicating that they meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value. We also report publicly on system-wide issues and on the way statistics are being used, celebrating when the standards are upheld and challenging publicly when they are not.

Statistics published by public sector bodies should be produced in a trustworthy way, be of high quality, and provide value by informing answers to society’s important questions. As the regulator of official statistics in the UK, our view is that good quality data is the bedrock for developing statistics that serve the public good.

Reliable data and evidence are fundamental to underpin policy and decisions relating to the delivery of health and social care in Wales. Our interest in relation to this inquiry mainly revolves around how the pandemic has impacted on the provision of health and social care data, and how this in turn will affect services both now and in the future.

This submission outlines some of the challenges faced in Wales in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic that we can identify with from our own work:

  • Data to support decisions related to the Covid-19 pandemic;
  • Impact of the pandemic on health;
  • Impact of the pandemic on social care.

I look forward to seeing the conclusions of your inquiry. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

Your sincerely,

Ed Humpherson

 

Office for Statistics Regulation Written Evidence: The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, and its management, on health and social care in Wales

Data to support decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic

    • It is important that data related to both the COVID-19 pandemic and its management is available so that effective decisions can be made on how to manage the impact of the virus and lead Wales out of the pandemic.
    • Throughout the pandemic, OSR has continued to monitor the development of data relating to both the pandemic and its impact. We have intervened with departments across the UK where we have identified a need for improvements to the data and statistics they have produced.
    • In November, we published a statement outlining the importance of sharing data in a way that promotes transparency and clarity. This outlined the importance of data that governments quote in statements and briefings being accessible to all and available in a timely manner.
    • Until recently, Welsh Government did not publish the slides and links to data sources to accompany their coronavirus briefings. Following our intervention, they have now started to make this information available on their website. This is helpful in enabling those who are interested to understand the context and reasoning behind the Welsh Government’s decisions.
    • Both Welsh Government and Public Health Wales have responded at speed and have developed new data collections and rapid COVID-19 surveillance dashboards to enable an understanding of the pandemic in Wales. In addition, Public Health Wales have published a paper examining risk factors for outbreaks of COVID-19 in care homes following hospital discharge.
    • Research of this nature is crucial to help understand the impact of practices early on in the pandemic and to inform future decisions. It is important to understand the strengths and limitations of such research. However, it is also important to be clear that much of the evidence is in its infancy and will continue to gain strength and weight as further evidence emerges. Whilst we welcome work of this nature to advance our understanding of the pandemic and its impacts, we also urge caution when basing decisions around future practice on early findings.
    • As the first vaccine to protect against COVID-19is rolled-out, hopes are rising of there finally being a way out of the pandemic. It will be important that statistics are developed on the rollout of vaccination programmes and that these are used to inform and manage such programmes. We have detailed our expectations in a letter to producers of health-related statistics across the UK, published on 1stDecember. Continued statistics on numbers of people infected with COVID-19 will, in part, help us to understand the efficacy of the vaccination programme.

Impact of the pandemic on health

    • The early impacts of the pandemic in relation to such factors as delivery of cancer screening, mental health services and elective operations have been well documented. The longer-term impacts will be wide ranging and will only become fully apparent over the course of several years. These impacts will range across both physical and mental health and will also be influenced by factors such as wider social and economic determinants of health and behavioural risk factors, such as smoking, diet and alcohol consumption.
    • It will be important that comprehensive data is available to allow monitoring of this wide range of factors, both so that the broader impact of the pandemic is fully understood, and so that effective policy and practice can be put into place to address the negative impacts. Public Health England have developed a monitoring tool to assess the wider impacts of COVID-19 on health7. We recommend that a similar approach is adopted in Wales.

Impact of the pandemic on social care

    • In 2018-19,we carried out a review of adult social care statistics across the UK8. Given the devolved nature of adult social care, the review looked at statistical issues in each of the four countries separately. Our research highlighted that adult social care has not been measured or managed as closely as healthcare, and a lack of funding has led to under investment and resourcing in data and analysis. Furthermore, the introduction of a new data collection system in recent years had led to variable levels of data quality within and across local authorities.
    • In 2019, the Welsh Government produced a new Social Services Activitypublication9. The information within this release covered a range of areas related to local authority social services, and the statistics had a range of users including ministers within the Welsh Government, local authorities, the Care Inspectorate Wales and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, and charities.
    • In March 2020, Welsh Government data collections, research activity and outputs were reviewed in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The data collections which this statistical release is based on were suspended for 2019-20, meaning that there will be no updated publication for this reporting year.
    • Although it is currently planned that data collections will be resumed for the 2020-21 reporting year, it is likely that local authorities who provide the data will continue to be under significant pressure, meaning that the quality of the data they submit may be jeopardised. There also remains the risk that publication of key statistics will be delayed or further suspended while ever the pandemic continues.

Office for National Statistics written evidence to Welsh Parliament’s Economy Infrastructure and Skills Committee’s inquiry on degree apprenticeships

Office for National Statistics and Data Science Campus written submission

Welsh Assembly, Economy Infrastructure and Skills Committee inquiry: Degree Apprenticeships

Growing the next generation of Data Scientists

Data science is a broad and fast-moving field spanning maths and statistics, software engineering and communications. Data Scientists blend experience and knowledge from a wide range of fields and organisations, and continuously seek to expand their range of technical skills. Developing data science skills is an important priority for both the Data Science Campus (the Campus), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) more broadly, and across government. Degree apprenticeships are a great way to encourage talent into the organisation and appeal to those looking for alternatives to university, with a more practical approach.

Two years ago, the ONS and the Campus were chosen to lead a trailblazer group of employers to develop a new degree apprenticeship standard. This followed the success of the ONS flagship foundation apprenticeship in data analytics in Wales. Together this group agreed the role profile of a data scientist and the knowledge, skills and behaviours required.

The data science degree apprenticeship is now live for delivery in England and Wales. In Wales, the Welsh Government are funding this apprenticeship as part of their degree apprenticeship trial. The ONS, Welsh Government, Ministry of Justice, Companies House, and start-up company Nightingale are the first adaptors of the degree apprenticeships, and the Campus and other business areas in the ONS ran a successful recruitment campaign for the first intake of apprentices, who started their employment on 25 March 2019. The Civil Service (Government Statistical Service) and several organisations (such as Bank of England, Santander, GSK, Nestle) have also recently advertised for apprentices in England.

The ultimate aim is for the ONS and the Campus is to reach as many people as we can through our different initiatives and emerging talent pipeline. We recognise that both graduate programmes and degree apprenticeships offer different skills sets that are equally valuable in responding to evolving challenges in the workforce.

Data Science Career Pathway

The data analytics level 4 apprenticeship was newly developed in Wales in 2017. The ONS was the first adopter of the framework and collaborated with ALS Training to develop and deliver an apprenticeship fit for the analyst world. One of the many skills the apprentices learned was to manipulate data in programming languages such as Python and R, so they can apply the latest data visualisation techniques to their work. The skills learnt provide the first steps on a career as a data scientist or statistician.

Within the Campus, we recruited two cohorts of the level 4 apprenticeship, totaling 13 apprentices. All members of both cohorts who successfully completed their apprenticeship have secured promotions into different roles in the ONS, Welsh Audit Office, Cabinet Office and in the private sector. This is testament to the skills, knowledge and behaviors they acquired and developed throughout the apprenticeship.

The next step was to introduce the Level 6 Data Science Degree Apprenticeship into the Campus. The Welsh Government incorporated data science as part of their pilot, and provided funding for the delivery of degree apprenticeships. This was an exciting and unique opportunity to collaborate with Cardiff Metropolitan University (our provider), the Welsh Government, and other government departments to develop a degree that would bring the apprenticeship standard alive and develop the data science knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers truly need.

The ONS recruited four Level 6 Data Science apprentices who started in the first year of the pilot. In the second year, another five, who had progressed from Level 4 to the degree apprenticeship, started Level 5. These are all in different business areas across the organisation.

Since developing the Level 6 apprenticeship, the trailblazer for the Level 7 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Specialists is now available in England. Developing career pathways is key to enable development progression within the Data Science profession. Different levels of apprenticeship allow us to recruit at different points and provide development opportunities at different levels for existing staff. The Campus is currently also piloting a two year Data Science Graduate programme, as well as working closely with universities offering placement opportunities for PhD and MSc students.

Success of degree apprenticeships

The Data Science Degree apprenticeship is new in both England and Wales, and therefore lessons have been learnt. For example, as an employer, we now know collaboration with the provider is key to ensure the degree is fit for purpose and the apprentices can embed their learning back in the workplace. We also know that for retention we must provide support and opportunities, with a clear career pathway. In line with this, we provide additional training on core skills, such as resilience, presentation skills, time management and will provide leadership training in year three of the course.

Overall, degree apprenticeships appear, so far, to be great at recruiting emerging talent and a good way to provide development opportunities into this profession. Our apprentices’ evidence during the Committee’s visit to the Campus on 4 March illustrates this especially well.

Data Science Campus
Office for National Statistics
March 2020

Office for National Statistics follow-up written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s inquiry on the 2021 Census

Dear Ms Sayed,

Thank you for inviting the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to give evidence to the Committee on 18 April.

At the session, I committed to providing some further information in response to questions around data security. I understand there were also questions on Armed Forces, Volunteering and Income data that time did not allow for on the day.

In response, I attach a brief note which summarises ONS’ current position on these issues.

Yours sincerely,

Iain Bell
Deputy National Statistician and Director General, Population and Public Policy
Office for National Statistics

 

In December 2017, we published an update on our topic research for the 2021 Census which contains details on our testing and evaluation to date on a number of Census topics.

Armed Forces data

In October 2017, ONS announced that it would recommend the inclusion of a question on the Armed Forces in the 2021 Census for England and Wales. Our research and consultation have established that there is a clear need for information on the Armed Forces and Veteran community.

Central and local government have told us they need information on the Armed Forces and Veteran community to fulfil their commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant. Services and support need to be delivered to the Armed Forces community in areas such as health, housing, qualifications, employment and others. Administrative data provides some of the data required, but not all.

ONS have developed and successfully tested a Census question, which we hope will meet the needs of decision-makers. We therefore intend to recommend inclusion of this topic in the 2021 Census.

Volunteering

We have designed two different questions on volunteering. In both rounds of testing, respondents had difficulty matching their volunteering activities to a response option. Results of the Census Test Evaluation Survey suggest challenges to collect information of sufficient quality to meet the user need. Alongside this, our understanding of user needs for other topics has grown. And so, to manage respondent burden and meet space constraints on the paper questionnaire, we intend to recommend not collecting information on volunteering in the 2021 Census.

We are currently researching how to provide this data by other means. Our economic well-being team are leading an area of work to understand the value of unpaid work, including volunteering.
Valuations of unpaid work are produced in the Household Satellite Accounts which was released in 20164 and provided data from 2005 to 2014. The team also use time-use data to understand the
division of unpaid labour within households and are now planning a new time use survey to further develop and modernise these statistics.

Income

ONS will not recommend that questions about personal income or household income be included in the 2021 Census for England and Wales. Our testing has shown that including a question on income within the Census negatively impacts on response rates, and undermines the quality of data. Instead, we are carrying out research to see if it is feasible to produce income statistics using administrative data.

Our current focus is on producing small area income outputs and understanding the precise user needs for the definition of income. We’ll then extend the research to multivariate outputs.

We are encouraged that our early analysis using administrative data broadly reflects the patterns we expect to see regarding income.

Data access and security

ONS has a strong record in protecting and safeguarding the security of data and information supplied to the Census, not least in its rigorous protection of personal Census information collected over the past 200 years. ONS successfully outsourced census services in 1991 (e.g. publicity, distribution), in 2001 (e.g. postal services, questionnaire printing, questionnaire scanning, data capture and coding as well as the census call centre and helpline) and in 2011 (e.g. publicity, questionnaire printing, postal services, questionnaire scanning, data capture and coding, census helpline, field staff recruitment, payment and training).

The 2021 Census plans to collect the majority of the data using on-line systems with considerably fewer paper forms than in 2011. Outsourced services for a 2021 Census would be conducted in
accordance with government procurement standards and requirements, designed and managed to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information and to deliver value for money. Any companies bidding for work would be subject to the same security requirements as apply to ONS, including those set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (e.g. provisions in s.39) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The security of Census data is a top priority and ONS has stringent safeguards to protect this data in all our operations. This includes control of physical access to any site or room where the Census data is stored, the secure control of access to Information Technology (IT) systems, personnel security controls to assure the trustworthiness of employees and suppliers working on the Census. All the Information Technology (IT) systems within ONS and its suppliers are designed with security in mind based on UK Government and industry best practice guidelines. Rigorous controls are implemented to protect data during transmission, storage and processing. Specific technical testing is also performed to ensure the systems are built and configured correctly. These security controls are additionally reviewed by the National Cyber Security Centre. The census security programme and its supplier operations activity is managed to the framework of ISO27001 – the internationally recognised Information Security Management Standard.

ONS provides assurance for the trustworthiness, integrity and reliability of our employees and suppliers involved in the Census. The data collected contains sensitive personal information and
ONS has a duty to protect this. A security clearance plays a significant and important role in assessing and managing access to this sensitive information. All staff working on the Census undergo a range of personal checks to validate their identity and check their criminal record. Those employees with access to personal information have an additional national security vetting performed.
ONS tightly controls access to IT systems that hold Census data to ensure that only those employees with the need to access this can do so. The proposals for the 2021 Census ensure that the data
captured electronically will at all times be handled securely. These measures cover the completed questionnaires, the electronic Census data set and all infrastructure relating to the operation of the Census including websites, supplier systems and communications links. Specific governance and processes authorise and manage access to Census data. Protective monitoring of this access
ensures that it is used in accordance with the ONS rules. All of the electronic communications links used for routing personal census information are encrypted.

Our current plans for data collection mean that completed paper forms will be securely scanned and passed to ONS by a supplier operating under ONS oversight. Suppliers will also be used in recruiting the field force and providing services such as the operation of our contact centre. All those working on the Census as employees of ONS or as suppliers or sub-contractors providing services to support the 2021 Census will be security checked and required to sign an undertaking to demonstrate that they understand their legal obligations and will not disclose any information relating to an individual person or a household.

A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is a legal requirement of the new Data Protection Act implementing the General Data Protection Regulation, where the processing of personal data is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. A Privacy Impact Assessment (the previous name for DPIAs) was completed for the 2011 Census and published on the ONS website. ONS has produced and published a privacy impact assessment at the initial research stage (The Census and Future Provision of Population Statistics in England and Wales: Privacy Impact Assessment for the Initial Research Stage’, March 2015). The DPIA for the 2021 Census will identify the risks to privacy and assess those risks; detail all our processing activities; ensure that our processing meets the principles of data protection, such as transparency and fairness; ensure that we have undertaken necessary consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Ongoing security reviews are performed on all Census systems to ensure that the security defences remain effective and cyber security with the potential to affect Census data are detected.

Finally, at the core of ONS’ data security is our Five Safes Framework – Safe people; Safe projects; Safe settings; Safe outputs; Safe data. Under the safe people pillar is the Approved Researchers
Scheme. This scheme is used by ONS to grant access to data that cannot be published openly, for statistical research purposes, as permitted by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. To
access data in this way, an individual must hold ONS Researcher Accreditation and have their research proposal approved by the ONS Microdata Release Panel, on behalf of the National Statistician. The processes and criteria used within the Approved Researcher Scheme were revised in 2016. The criteria for accreditation require that all researchers be fit and proper, and their specific research proposals are scrutinised to ensure there is a clear public benefit. Further information about the Approved Researchers Scheme can be found on our website.

 

Related Links:

Office of National Statistics written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (March 2018)

Office of National Statistics oral evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (April 2018)

Office for National Statistics oral evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s inquiry on the 2021 Census

On Wednesday 18 April 2018 Iain Bell Deputy National Statistician and Director General for Population and Public Policy, Office for National Statistics and Garnett Compton, Census programme, Office for National Statistics, gave oral evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee for their inquiry on the 2021 Census.

A transcript of which has been published on the Welsh Parliament’s Website.

Related Links:

Office of National Statistics written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (March 2018)

Office of National Statistics follow-up written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (July 2018)

Office for National Statistics written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s inquiry on the 2021 Census

Dear Ms Sayed,

I write in response to the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census.

As the Committee are aware, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s National Statistical Institute, and largest producer of official statistics. We aim to provide a firm evidence base for sound decisions, and develop the role of official statistics in democratic debate.

We are also responsible for the Census in England and Wales, with the next census to be carried out in 2021. In advance of appearing before the Committee in April to answer your questions, the below provides some initial information for consideration.

Census consultation to date

Question development for the 2021 Census started in June 2015 with the 2021 Census topic consultation, asking stakeholders for views on our initial thoughts on which topics we should ask questions on in the 2021 Census. 1095 stakeholders responded to the consultation indicating their need for data on different topics, expressing needs for information on new topics such as the Armed Forces community, sexual orientation and gender identity, and outlining areas where changes made could help better meet user needs. Following the topic consultation, we published topic-specific reports outlining our next steps, and developed testing plans to research the needs identified.

Further consultation has been held around topics where greater needs for change or development were identified. We have also held public events such as a series of roadshows (July 2016) and adhoc meetings with interested parties including All Party Parliamentary Groups, community groups and charities. Most recently, ONS held a stakeholder forum in London on 13 December 2017. At the forum, we discussed needs and research on the topics of gender identity, sexual orientation and ethnicity. We will be hosting another forum on 23 April in Cardiff to discuss the topic of ageing.

On 28 February, we launched a public consultation on 2021 Census Output content to help us understand what statistical products our users need from the 2021 Census outputs, and to help prioritise our future research. This is open for views until 23 May.

Achieving a successful census in Wales

ONS engages with Welsh users and stakeholders through a number of different channels to ensure that the needs of Welsh communities and users of statistics are fully represented and taken into account.

There are three main areas we have engaged on:

1) Ensuring the questions cover the needs of Welsh users;
2) Successful operational delivery within Wales; and
3) Ensuring the outputs meet the needs of Welsh users.

All three of these activities are covered by the Welsh Census Advisory Group (CAG). This is chaired by Glyn Jones, Chief Statistician for Wales, and includes stakeholders from other government departments, universities and non-profit data users. The group’s remit covers design and delivery issues as they relate to data production and data use. The CAG formally meets twice a year but members are regularly consulted and updated throughout the year between meetings.

At the last meeting of the CAG in January 2018, ONS updated the group on progress to date, and sought input from group members on topics, developments in geography and results of the 2017 Census test.  Most recently, group members have been invited to respond to the outputs consultation that we launched in February.

Question design

As well as engaging stakeholders through the CAG, in November 2017, ONS and the Welsh Government jointly hosted a ‘Welsh Language in the 2021 Census’ stakeholder event. Attendees included representatives from Welsh Councils, the Welsh Language Commissioner and Welsh Language interest groups. Presentations from ONS and the Welsh Government were followed by a Roundtable discussion on the Welsh language, which considered the format and routing of the questions, and allowed the group to consider how the data may be used, and potential limitations. Their views and feedback are being considered, alongside testing and evaluation results, to propose the recommendations for the 2021 Census. The group may be contacted again in the future for matters relating to Welsh language in the Census.

Operational delivery

The CAG is also utilised to support strategic and operational development of the 2021 Census. A key example of this was the provision of information relating to religious communal  stablishments in Wales. This information has been used to inform the strategic and operational approach to communal establishments more broadly.

In addition to the CAG, we use the Census Liaison Operational Management Group (OMG) to address operational issues with ONS and its members which include Ceredigion and Cardiff County Councils.

Meeting user needs

Users from the Welsh Government recently expressed interest in the 2017 test results. The Welsh Statistical Liaison Committee and the Third Sector User Panel at Welsh Government were presented with this information last year. Work with the CAG has enabled us to build relationships with these groups, and has helped us understand the specific needs of the users that these groups represent.

More widely, as in 2011, we are currently undertaking programmes of work to engage at local authority level, and a census community engagement programme. To ensure we are able to engage with users effectively, we provide information and promotional materials in Welsh and are also developing a bilingual census logo.

Welsh Language Questions

In 2011, language data was collected through questions on Welsh skills, Main language and English language proficiency (examples at Annex A). Main language and English proficiency were new questions in 2011. The aim of the language questions is to identify the size of the population for whom English is not their main language, and their level of proficiency in English. This data is used to inform policy development, local planning and service provision such as education, health and local services.

The structure of the language questions was as follows:

• Welsh skills was collected only in Wales and the question space was left blank in England.
• Main language response options were slightly different in England and Wales, with the ‘English’ tick box in England replaced by ‘English or Welsh’ in Wales to capture both national languages in Wales. The Welsh language version reads ‘Cymraeg neu Saesneg’ (‘Welsh or English’) to reflect the version of the form chosen.
• The English proficiency question was identical in England and Wales.

During question testing, an option was tested where the main language response options ‘English or Welsh’ / ‘Cymraeg neu Saesneg’ was split into two separate tick boxes. Results of the testing
showed that respondents struggled to answer, particularly amongst the Welsh speaking community. Results of the research were shared with Welsh language stakeholders at the event held in
November 2017. The Welsh language stakeholders discussed the results and agreed as a group that the response option should not be split. They agreed that Welsh skills data would be best placed for monitoring the Welsh language.

The need for language sub-topics was identified in the 2021 Census topic consultation held in 2015. Some stakeholders did express an interest in first/second, ‘native’ or additional languages but the requests did not evidence a strong enough user need to pursue a change. Data quality was not raised as an issue following on from the 2011 Census. All work so far has largely focused on user need but further testing and user research is planned to finalise all of the question wording, particularly focused on the online census questionnaire. As a result of testing and feedback, we are proposing to use the same language questions from the 2011 Census in the 2021 Census.

Legislation

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is only responsible for the Census in England and Wales; the censuses in Scotland and Northern Ireland are devolved responsibilities and are carried out by
National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. We work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure that results from each of the censuses are as
comparable as possible. Although detailed arrangements may vary, each country will follow the same basic procedures with the publication of initial proposals being followed by the required secondary legislation.

For England and Wales, the Census Act 1920 provides for a census to be taken, however each census can only be carried out following approval of secondary legislation – the Census Order (affirmative procedure) and Census Regulations (negative procedure), which set out the questions to be asked and the procedures for collecting the information. Welsh Ministers must be involved in respect of explicit consent to the order and laying of separate regulations in the Welsh Assembly.

Secondary legislation is preceded by a White Paper which traditionally sets out the proposed topics for inclusion in the census questionnaire and proposals for how the census will be conducted. The most significant changes this time being that the census will be predominantly online and the greater use of administrative data to pave a way to meet the Government’s ambition that censuses after 2021 are conducted more frequently, using existing data.

Updates on other topics

Many of the core issues about what to ask in the 2021 Census have already been determined through the topic consultation in 2015 and subsequent research since 2016. Testing has taken place in England and Wales, in both the English and Welsh language. The latest update, where a final proposition was reached, was our announcement that we will be proposing a question on Armed Forces veterans to provide information to help public authorities meet their obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant. This was followed by the 2021 Census topic research report in December 2017.

We have identified a clear need for improved information on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is especially in relation to policy development, service provision and fulfilling duties under the Equality Act 2010. Data on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) population would provide evidence on the extent of inequalities, discrimination and disadvantage, which in turn would help to target and improve policy making, particularly in health services, education, employment, housing, social services and homophobic crime reduction services for LGBT groups.
We are still considering whether and how to collect information on gender identity, alongside continuing to collect information on male or female. This is particularly complex in meeting a respondent need for gender identity, a user need to measure the size of the trans population while ensuring an accurate estimate of the male and female population. Our research so far gives us confidence that collecting gender doesn’t have a negative impact on collecting information on male and female. We also know that there is a strong information need for separate information on the trans population.

Further testing is planned to refine the question design and inform our recommendation about the inclusion of such a question or questions in the 2021 Census. To be clear, we have never suggested that people would not be able to report themselves as male or female. We have and will continue to collect this vital information.

Users expressed a wide range of demands for data on ethnicity and religion. Based on user need, we have narrowed this down to four potential additional tick boxes to the question asked in 2011 –
Jewish, Roma, Sikh and Somali. We continue to engage with the relevant communities on the acceptability or otherwise of including such additional tick boxes. We are also undertaking further
research to assess whether the inclusion of new categories will collect sufficient quality information to meet the user need and that our conclusions are compliant with our legal obligations. A successful census test was carried out in 2017 including areas within Powys, to test the impact on response of including a sexual orientation question and to assess the new technologies and processes required to run a predominantly online census. We are planning for a rehearsal of around 100,000 households in 2019 before scaling up to 26 million households in 2021. The rehearsal will be run in both England and Wales.

ONS will make its recommendations to government on 2021 Census content later this year. Our recommendations will be based on our considerations around the evidence of user need, public
acceptability of proposed questions, and our ability to devise questions that collect good quality information to meet the user need and our legal obligations.

I look forward to answering your questions and elaborating on the above in April.

Yours sincerely,

Iain Bell
Deputy National Statistician and Director General, Population and Public Policy
Office for National Statistics

 

 

Annex A Examples of the 2011 Census form

The main language question is used to route respondents with the national language as their main language past the ‘English proficiency’ question.

Examples of the 2011 Census form

Related links:

Office of National Statistics oral evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (April 2018)

Office of National Statistics follow-up written evidence to the Welsh Parliament’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s call for evidence on the 2021 Census. (July 2018)