Foreword by the National Statistician

The United Kingdom has vast data resources, and the Government Statistics Service has the professional competence and capacity to exploit them. However, the UK does not have express statistics legislation to guarantee its statisticians access to the data resources of central and local government. Statisticians are obliged to work within a complex and changing legislative framework to gain access to data obtained by others in government. Access to data initially collected for administrative purposes creates numerous possibilities for new and improved National Statistics, especially when it is combined with our rich sources of statistical survey and census data. The economic and social benefits from increased data sharing are considerable, both in terms of the new statistics that could be produced and the opportunity to reduce the burden on respondents. Administrative records may be the only cost effective way of regularly obtaining information about small groups in household or business populations. Data sharing can lead to improved statistical quality, with much greater efficiency in terms of cost and timeliness. This guide aims to help in the realisation of these benefits. Statisticians must ensure that data sharing is lawful and that confidentiality is maintained absolutely. Combining confidential data from a number of sources makes the published statistics more valuable, but it also increases the likelihood that the resulting analyses and statistical measures will provide information that is disclosive and not able to be published. This guide refers to the National Statistics Code of Practice and the supporting Protocol on Data Access and Confidentiality, which detail the principles and standards necessary to maintain the confidentiality of official statistics.