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)
• Nitesh Prakash (Bain & Company)
• Professor Uzo Iwobi (Race Council Cymru)  – left the meeting within the first 15 minutes
• Professor Tom Shakespeare (The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM))

Experts:

• Catrin Awoyemi (Welsh Government)
• 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):

• Fiona Dawe
• Dawn Snape
• Amie Dede-Benefor
• Louise Fryer
• Abygail Tustin
• Jessica Kempinski
• Cath Hollyhead
• Neil Bannister
• Rose Drummond
• Michael Hamill

Additional attendees:

• Darren Stillwell (Cabinet Office)

Apologies:

• Professor Shannon Vallor (University of Edinburgh)
• Lela Kogbara (Place Matters)
• Richard Laux (Cabinet Office)
• Ruth Studley (ONS)
• Jo Evans (ONS)
• Jay Lindop (ONS)
• Mary Gregory (ONS)

1. Welcome, Introductions and Declaration of Interest

1. Fiona Dawe welcomed all to the meeting on behalf of Dame Julia Cleverdon (who joined the meeting at a later point).
2. Fiona noted that Evelyn Collins’ had put forward amendments to the January minutes that had been incorporated and suggested that a representative from the Northern Irish government be invited to participate as an Expert member of the NSIDAC. This was being considered.
3. No conflicts of interest were declared by the Committee members.

2. For discussion: Inclusive Data Taskforce (IDTF) quarterly update – Amie Dede-Benefor 

1. Amie Dede-Benefor leads the team responsible for monitoring and reporting progress towards the IDTF recommendations and gave an update on the final data collection and analysis of the IDTF commitments.
2. Amie outlined the RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status of commitments broken down by Inclusive Data Principles (IDPs). Currently 93% of commitments have an update for Q4 2024-2025. Updates were collected via emails to commitments holders and analysis of the responses will utilise both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings will be presented in the final IDTF Annual Report alongside case studies for the 8 IDPs, due to be published Summer 2025. Amie sought input from members regarding the structure and content of the annual report.
3. The Committee approved the plan for the report and were keen to see the progress that has been made toward the IDPs and where and why this has not been the case. It was noted that analysis of progress would feature in the annual report. The Committee suggested further consideration of the report’s focus, title and planned distribution to ensure that the report would reach the intended audience. Members committed to being proactive in sharing the report and findings with their contacts.
4. Fiona Dawe noted that the ONS would be producing an evaluation of the IDFT initiative that would provide additional information on progress made. The Committee were asked to comment on the Evaluation plan to be shared following the meeting.

Action:

Secretariat to share the draft structure of the 2025 Annual Report with members and invite comment.

Action:

Secretariat to share the Evaluation Plan with members for their feedback.

Action:

Secretariat to share the Annual Report with members when published.

3. For discussion: Update on attributes work plan: Using administrative data to capture highest level of qualification – Rose Drummond and Michael Hamill

1. Rose Drummond and Michael Hamill lead work on education characteristics within the Future of Population and Migration Statistics programme. Michael talked through developments for highest level of qualification.
2. The team have identified a range of user needs and outlined these requirements which include granular qualification details and qualifications by sex. They have identified administrative sources from which data can be drawn. This data is limited in terms of missing data for older people and those who achieved their qualifications outside the UK. The team are working to find other sources to fill these gaps.
3. In terms of inclusion, the team are assessing the quality of data for different population groups who are more likely to be missing, e.g. migrants. The Committee were asked if there were other groups they expected may be impacted.
4. In the discussion, members suggested that private school pupils, those who take non-government funded qualifications or complete higher education outside the UK may be missed within the current data sources. Furthermore, members mentioned the importance of understanding whether excluded students and those being homeschooled are included in the data.

4. Review of minutes – Dame Julia Cleverdon

1. The Committee approved the January meeting minutes.

5. Any other business – Dame Julia Cleverdon

1. Fiona Dawe clarified that feedback given by members at the January meeting, regarding the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) consultation, would be incorporated into the OSR consultation responses. If members of the Committee wished to provide additional comments, they should do so to the OSR direct via email (details were shared in the meeting).

6. Finish & Close – Dame Julia Cleverdon

The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 12^th March 2025. It was noted that trust and trustworthiness would be a topic of discussion.