Publishing official statistics in development

Policy details

Official statistics in development are a subset of newly developed or innovative official statistics that are undergoing evaluation. Official statistics in development are produced under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics. They are published to involve users and stakeholders at an early stage in assessing their suitability and quality. Official statistics in development were previously known as experimental statistics.

The regulatory guidance about producing official statistics in development sets out the UK Statistics Authority policy on this topic.

Official statistics in development are, by definition, also official statistics. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 refers only to official statistics and makes no mention of official statistics in development.

It is the sole responsibility of the producer body (with the guidance of the Chief Statistician or Head of Profession for statistics) to decide when to label a set of official statistics as ‘in development’ and when to remove that label. The Office for Statistics Regulation are happy to discuss specific situations with producers as part of the decision making process, but have no formal role in making the decisions.

In producing official statistics in development, producers should build towards full consideration of the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Accredited official statistics and official statistics in development

When accredited official statistics are redeveloped, they must be re-labelled as official statistics in development.

Producers must get permission from the Office for Statistics Regulation to remove accreditation before making the change. Accreditation can only be removed with the approval of the regulator.

When to use the official statistics in development label

Producers must use their judgement to decide when to use the official statistics in development label for a new output or a modification of an existing output. Consider the following criteria:

• there is a defined and time-limited work programme, either to develop new statistics or to improve existing outputs, and the output falls within the remit of that programme
• you are developing new statistics that have considerable immediate value to users; users are aware of the statistics’ quality and limitations and can make qualified use of them before operational testing has been completed
• the statistics remain subject to testing of quality, volatility and ability to meet user needs
• new methods are being tested and are still subject to modification or further evaluation
• there is only partial coverage (e.g. of subgroups or regions) at this stage of development

Introducing official statistics in development

When introducing official statistics in development, producers should:

• explain what the official statistics in development are
• describe how they might be useful
• describe why they are in development – what is new or different about them – and how they complement existing official statistics
• explain how and when feedback will be sought and what feedback the producer would like
• include a statement in releases and metadata explaining what the official statistics in development label means
• set out when the producer expects to be able to remove the official statistics in development label

Whenever possible, producers should also say whether and when they plan to request the UK Statistics Authority to assess whether the statistics comply with the Code of Practice so that they can be designated as accredited official statistics.

Removal of the official statistics in development label

The official statistics in development label is temporary. It can be removed when a producer considers this to be appropriate, which may be as part of a planned transition to become accredited official statistics.

It is up to the producer to decide when it is appropriate for the official statistics in development label to be removed. Factors to consider before removing the label include:

• whether user feedback indicates that statistics are trustworthy, of high quality, and valuable
• whether the methods employed have proved sufficiently robust to suit the variety of circumstances material to the use of the statistics
• whether coverage has reached a sufficient level
• whether the defined development phase has ended
• whether it is judged that the statistics fully comply with the standards of the Code of Practice

Statistics assessed as fully compliant with the Code of Practice are, by definition, no longer in development. As with all official statistics, a producer can ask the UK Statistics Authority to assess whether official statistics in development comply with the Code of Practice so they can become accredited official statistics.

The Authority may also decide that it is appropriate to assess a set of official statistics in development and will notify the producer accordingly.

Producers may withdraw a set of official statistics in development if they do not meet user needs or are otherwise not fit for purpose. If official statistics in development are to be withdrawn, the Head of Profession or Lead Official should decide who to notify and whether to escalate changes of scope to the National Statistician.

The guidance on changing or ceasing to publish official statistics provides further details.