HMRC statistics quality improvement plans, April 2022 to April 2023
Updated 9 May 2022
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This note sets out鈥痶he improvements we plan to make from April 2022 to April 2023 to the quality of HMRC鈥檚 statistics and the improvements we made from April 2021 to April 2022.鈥疶he improvements are part of a鈥痩onger programme of work鈥痶o implement recommendations from the Office for Statistics Regulation鈥檚 review of HMRC鈥檚 official statistics, Strengthening the quality of HMRC鈥檚 official statistics.鈥�
There are 4 main areas of work:
- reducing statistics publication outputs
- documenting how statistics are produced, from data collection to publication鈥�
- streamlining and standardising statistics production processes鈥�
- making information on the quality of statistics more readily available鈥�
1. Reducing statistics publication outputs鈥�
We amended some 20 of HMRC鈥檚 official statistics publications, to鈥痳educe鈥痶heir鈥痗ontent,鈥痮r鈥痜requency or (for a few of our publications) drop鈥痶hem鈥痑ltogether, as described in this written response to a statistics consultation carried out in early 2021. We plan to consult on HMRC鈥檚 suite of official statistics publications again from the end of 2022.
2. Documenting how statistics are produced鈥�
We improved the documentation of鈥痶he production process, from data collection to publication, of 40% of our statistics publications in April 2021 to April 2022. The documentation for the remaining statistics publications will be improved in April 2022 to April 2023.
This has been a high-level mapping exercise to identify the key stages in the production process and鈥痶o鈥痙ocument鈥痥ey components of鈥痺hat is done at each stage. This has helped us to identify the riskiest aspects of those production processes, which in turn has informed where to target future mapping activities and other actions to minimise the risk of鈥痚rrors or misinterpretation in the production process.鈥�
3. Streamlining and standardising statistics production鈥�
We have a programme of work to streamline or standardise the methods or tools used to produce our statistics publications. We are using a range of modern statistical tools and software development good practice to carry out all the steps of statistical production, from input data to the final output in a way that is sustainable and transparent and that fosters robust quality assurance processes.
In April 2021 to April 2022 we streamlined or standardised the methods or tools used to produce 40% of our statistics publications and in April 2022 to April 2023 we plan to streamline or standardise the remaining statistics publications.
In implementing these projects, we have drawn on principles outlined in the Office for Statistics Regulation鈥檚 .鈥�
4. Improving availability of quality information鈥�
In April 2021 to April 2022 we made statistics quality reports easier to find on our statistics website and made it easier for users to find updates regarding issues with our statistics. We also improved the consistency and presentation of quality information for 55% of our statistics publications
In April 2022 to April 2023 we will complete work to improve the consistency and presentation of quality information for our statistics publications.
The actions planned may uncover mistakes in statistics production, for example in interpretation of data.鈥疻e will keep users informed of any revisions鈥痶o鈥痵tatistics, should the鈥痭eed鈥痶o revise arise, in line with HMRC鈥檚 policy on revisions to statistics.鈥�