Members:

• Dame Julia Cleverdon (Chair)
• Professor Anthony Heath (University of Oxford)
• Si Chun Lam (West Midlands Combined Authority)
• Dr Evelyn Collins (formerly of Equality Commission for Northern Ireland; Honorary Professor at Queens University)
• Professor Uzo Iwobi (Race Council Cymru)
• Professor Shannon Vallor (University of Edinburgh)
• Lela Kogbara (Place Matters)

Experts:

• Scott Clifford (Welsh Government)
• Eilidh McLaughlin (Scottish Government)
• Shamim Rahman (Department of Health and Social Care)
• Isabella Schmidt (UN Women)

Office for National Statistics (ONS):

• Sir Ian Diamond (part)
• Ruth Studley
• Fiona Dawe
• Dawn Snape
• Louise Fryer
• Abygail Tustin
• Jessica Kempinski
• Cath Hollyhead
• Neil Bannister
• Rosie Wilson
• Sarah Nightingale
• Martin O’Brian
• Heather Jones
• Frensis Bras
• Emma Howley
• Jo Parry
• Liz Evans
• Angela Potter
• Ann Blake
• Louise Morris
• Joy Preece

Additional attendees:

• Richard Laux (Cabinet Office)

Apologies:

• Professor Tom Shakespeare (The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM))
• Nitesh Prakash (Bain & Company)
• Catrin Awoyemi (Welsh Government)
• Emma Rourke (ONS)
• Amie Dede-Benefor (ONS)
• Jo Evans (ONS)
• Jay Lindop (ONS)
• Lizzie Pereira (ONS)

1. Welcome, Introductions and Declaration of Interest

1. Dame Julia Cleverdon welcomed all to the meeting and noted that this will be her last meeting as chair.
2. No conflicts of interest were declared by the Committee members.

2. Trust

Dame Julia Cleverdon introduced the theme of trust which linked the first three presentations. Trust is fundamental to IDTF Inclusive Data Principle 1: to ‘Create an environment of trust and trustworthiness which allows and encourages everyone to count and be counted in UK data and evidence’.

For Information: Trust and public engagement – Jo Parry

1. Jo Parry leads the ONS Strategic Marketing and Planning Teams and gave an overview of the Civil Society Covenant Framework launched by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which aims to reset the relationship between government and civil society.
2. The ONS are working to inspire public trust and engagement by tailoring activities and engagement to different audiences. For example, through social media influencers, the ‘Bringing Data to Life’ Webinar series and a survey pilot in Birmingham, they aim is to increase and widen survey participation. Future projects include running a ‘data debate’ in partnership with the University of the Third Age.
3. In the discussion, committee members were positive about the variety of engagement actives and were interested to see the outcomes. It was suggested that consideration should also be given to what individuals ‘get back’ from sharing their data with the ONS.

For Information: ONS Website Transformation Programme – Liz Evans and Martin O’Brian

1. Liz is a Deputy Director in Publishing and Communications and Martin is a Deputy Director in ONS Digital Services. They have been leading the ONS website and content transformation, focusing on producing accessible and quality content throughout the ONS website. Technology is being harnessed to better serve users, and a new content management system is being built, baking accessibility into design and improving navigation.
2. User needs and behaviours have been explored through pop-up surveys and direct user research sessions. This is ongoing and seeks to ensure that a diverse range of users are represented.

For discussion: No one left behind: digital and data ethics in Scotland – Eilidh McLaughlin

1. Eilidh is a senior leader in digital ethics and inclusion within the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government is focused on building trust with the public by ensuring inclusive and accessible public services. Their approach includes the open government programme to improve transparency, ensuring consistency in data standards and improving digital inclusion.
2. Eilidh highlighted that NHS Scotland are currently looking at racism and data on ethnicity and race. They are seeking to address incomplete data which can cause bias and have established a working group to invite scrutiny and listen to concerns. The ultimate aim is to improve health outcomes for those from diverse backgrounds. Eilidh will reach out to those working on this project to give a more detailed presentation to the committee.
3. In the discussion committee members were positive about the work of NHS Scotland and suggested sharing knowledge across the four nations. Members reiterated the need for more dialogue with communities, particularly in communicating how their personal data are used.

Action:

Secretariat to reach out to Eilidh to arrange a future presentation on NHS Scotland’s work on Data on Ethnicity and Race.

3. For discussion: Household composition – Ann Blake & Louise Morris

1. Ann works within the Future of Population and Migration Statistics (FPMS) Programme exploring how administrative data can be used to understand the population and how people’s living circumstances. User needs have identified the requirement for detailed household population information at Local Authority level, as well as data covering non-household populations. She highlighted challenges in developing administrative-based estimates to meet these requirements and current thinking on how best to address them.
2. Louise also works within FPMS and introduced the Interim Strategic Approach, which is in its early stages of development. This is looking at the need for direct data collection, to supplement administrative estimates, and how ONS can best design this with inclusivity in mind.
3. In the discussion, committee members stressed that shared accommodation and overcrowding is an area where we lack granular data. Local Authorities are particularly interested in this as it impacts planning for important issues such as fire risks and traffic flow.

4. For discussion: Harmonisation: Update on disability, ethnicity and sex and gender identity – Joy Preece

1. Joy leads the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation team and gave an overview of progress made towards developing revised harmonised standards since she last presented to the committee in December 2024.
   • Disability: the team presented a webinar to stakeholders, which will be followed up with a series of roundtable discussions for further consultation about user needs.
   • Ethnicity: Discovery work is being carried out through desk research, engagement with data users and research with the public.
   • Sex and Gender Identity: Regional engagement events are being planned.
2. The next steps for ethnicity harmonisation will involve publication of the alpha phase research for feedback and greater engagement with the public.

5. For discussion: Using administrative data to produce native language statistics – Rosie Wilson

1. As part of the FPMS programme, Rosie leads research on Welsh Language. Currently the census is a key source of information, although Welsh language data is also routinely collected on other surveys. She outlined some of the challenges facing Welsh Language statistics including inconsistencies between surveys, unclear definitions of what constitutes a Welsh speaker, and that Welsh is traditionally a spoken language. There are also limited administrative data sources.
2. Progress has been made through a joint ONS and Welsh Government workplan to explore the differences in survey estimates. Also, other data sources have been identified to provide additional coverage.
3. Committee members suggested reaching out to other countries facing similar challenges and exploring Local Authority level data for deeper insight. In terms of definitions of what constitutes a Welsh Language speaker, members suggested asking speakers for their own definitions and being open to a multidimensional measure.

6. Sir Ian Diamond gives thanks to Dame Julia Cleverdon

1. Sir Ian Diamond, the National Statistician, visited the meeting to thank Dame Julia Cleverdon for her commitment to inclusive data and service as Chair of the Committee. He thanked the committee members for helping to drive the agenda forward and their contribution to progress that has been made.

7. For information: A future look for NSIDAC – Ruth Studley

1. Ruth echoed Sir Ian Diamond’s sentiment. She noted that ONS will be recruiting a new chair following the process set out in the Lievesley Review. This process will also be applied to the recruitment of committee members, including current members whose 3-year period has come to an end.
2. Ruth personally congratulated Amie Dede-Benefor on the birth of her baby and thanked her for her work in leading the Secretariat, running and organising the committee.

8. Any other business

1. None raised.

9. Finish and close