Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Undertake further ONS work on proposals for future migration and population statistics.
Conclusion
This Committee’s view - particularly in light of challenges around data-access - is that officials have not yet demonstrated that they can deliver the evidence users need, without a decennial census. We therefore recommend that the Office for National Statistics undertake further work on proposals for the future of migration and population statistics. (Paragraph 49) Who should evidence serve? Delivering evidence for the public good
Government response summary AI-generated
The OSR accepts the Committee’s recommendation to review and publish a report on the adequacy of UK-wide comparable data, committing to publish an update in 2025 that will share more detailed views on UK comparability.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
26. Both the ONS and the Authority welcome the Committee’s recognition of the opportunities offered by administrative data sources. We also recognise the need to improve the culture of data-sharing across government if we are to maximise those opportunities. This is a challenge that was also highlighted by Professor Denise Lievesley’s review earlier this year, and which the Authority continues to work with partners across the public sector to resolve. 27. Data already held within the public sector mean population and migration statistics can be more consistently accurate and produced more often and quickly. As a result, decision-makers have more, higher-quality, information about local populations, their characteristics, where they live and the public services they need. 28. In line with the Committee’s recommendation, the ONS continues its work to develop and improve admin-based population estimates, using innovative new methods and a wider range of data sources, accounting for quality limitations in the data. We published updated estimates as official statistics in development in July,16 and aim for these to become the official mid-year population estimates in 2025. 29. The Authority expects to publish its recommendation on the future of population and migration statistics in England and Wales in the coming months. This recommendation will draw on extensive engagement with users of these statistics, including through the public consultation last year, and will include the Authority’s proposed approach to the future of the census in England and Wales. The Analysis Function
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