Foreword from the National Statistician

This page is available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

I am very pleased to present this report which sets out the progress made across the UK statistical system in the 2023-2024 period towards more inclusive data and evidence. I am delighted that the report clearly demonstrates inclusivity is being embedded in data collection, production and dissemination across the Government Statistical Service (GSS).

This is evidenced by the Inclusive Data Taskforce (IDTF) commitment metrics which show that over 80% of projects set out in the original Embedding Inclusivity report are either complete or on track to be complete.

Whilst it should be celebrated that over 40% of commitments have been completed, we cannot afford to be complacent. We must not assume that once a project which set out to improve the inclusivity of our data in some way has met its original objectives, that it can be regarded as complete and no longer relevant to the wider programme.

We must continually revisit past work to ensure that the positive actions once taken to meet the commitment have become ‘business as usual’, so that inclusivity becomes further embedded into our work and remains at the heart of the GSS.

We are extremely grateful to our colleagues across the GSS, UK devolved governments, and other commitment owners for their work and contributions to the report, as well as the members of my Inclusive Data Advisory Committee (the NSIDAC), who provide invaluable guidance and steer on our journey towards a more inclusive statistical system.

It has been a positive year in the data inclusivity space, and we are looking forward to observing the further progress towards the IDTF commitments into 2025 and beyond.