UK Statistical System Code of Practice Office for Statistics Regulation
UK Statistics AuthorityThe BoardCommittees and panelsNational Statistician’s advisory committees and panelsNational Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory CommitteeEthical Principles

Ethical Principles

In reviewing project and policy proposals, we will provide advice to the National Statistician on the basis of the following principles:

  1. The use of data has clear benefits for users and serves the public good.
  2. The data subject’s identity (whether person or organisation) is protected, information is kept confidential and secure, and the issue of consent is considered appropriately.
  3. The risks and limits of new technologies are considered and there is sufficient human oversight so that methods employed are consistent with recognised standards of integrity and quality.
  4. Data used and methods employed are consistent with legal requirements such as Data Protection Legislation[1], the Human Rights Act 1998, the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the common law duty of confidence.
  5. The views of the public are considered in light of the data used and the perceived benefits of the research.
  6. The access, use and sharing of data is transparent, and is communicated clearly and accessibly to the public.

[1] “Data Protection Legislation” means the full, applicable data protection framework as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018. This encompasses general processing (including the General Data Protection Regulation and the applied GDPR).

These principles are reviewed regularly.