Consultation on a set of specific proposed changes to official statistics produced by the Defra group

Overview

The Defra group (the core department, together with our agencies and arm’s length bodies) produces and uses a wide range of official statistics. They are used internally to inform policy making and operational delivery and are shared externally, so that others can use the information.

We need to keep the statistics relevant and up to date. Requirements are changing across the full range of users of our statistics and - if anything - becoming more complex.  New technologies; open data and new data sources; and electronic dissemination all introduce new opportunities for the way we produce and provide statistics. This can increase the richness of data and increase efficiency. 

The specific proposals presented in this consultation have been informed by an internal review of the Department’s official statistics.

As an organisation, we continually strive to be the best, and challenge ourselves on the improvements that can be made, and so further proposals may follow.

We were due to publish a summary of responses to our recent consultation within 12 weeks of closure. However, this date has fallen within the purdah period for the EU Referendum.  As we were not able to publish the response before purdah started on 27^th May, the purdah rules mean that we must delay until after this pre-referendum period.  We will now aim to publish the summary of responses at the earliest opportunity after the Referendum.

Why your views matter

The consultation invites views on a proposed set of specific changes to ‘Official Statistics’ produced across the Defra group in line with our aim of being an open, efficient and data driven department. Response to the consultation will help us judge whether we are making the right decisions.

We are also inviting any general feedback on the uses made of our statistical products; other ideas on how we can further reduce burdens on survey respondents or introduce further efficiencies in our compilation of statistics.

This is a technical consultation confined to a specific set of proposals on a limited number of official statistics products. It has a mainly specialist, and easily targeted, audience.  We are therefore carrying out a short four-week consultation.

The consultation will run from the 25^th February 2016 until the 24^th March 2016.