Publishing statistical data and analyses requested by users: ad hoc requests
Purpose
This policy sets out the arrangements for the publication of statistical data and analysis provided in
response to ad hoc requests.
Policy and background to the policy
The Office for National Statistics’ role is to provide trusted, relevant and independent official statistics
on the UK economy and society to inform the national debate and improve decision making. In line
with the Government Statistical Service Data Strategy, ONS has an ‘open by default’ approach to the
dissemination of its outputs. We wish to encourage the greater use of our data and make our products
more accessible.
ONS regularly publishes statistics, analysis and datasets to a published pre-announced timetable.
The regular publications meet a broad range of user requirements but ONS also responds to user
requests for additional analyses or tables, which we term ad hoc requests. This service forms part of
our vision of widening access to, and encouraging greater exploitation of, our data.
In 2013 we responded to around 1,300 ad hoc requests for additional analysis or tables: some of
these requests were for individual time series from our national accounts database, others for tables
from our social and business surveys or administrative data sources. The main areas where analyses
are requested are health, vital events, national accounts, employment and earnings, and census.
There is no charge for data but we may charge for providing a service if the analysis requested is
complex and takes more than 30 minutes to complete. We will list the services available in our
Publication Scheme. Making available as much underlying data as possible (subject to the need to
avoid disclosure) through published ad hoc requests should reduce the number of requests.
A small number of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) were handled that included tables that were too
long to be included in Hansard, and which were placed in the Library of the House of Commons or
House of Lords.
Ad hoc requests are published at the same time as they are provided to the customer. This is in line
with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which states that official statistics should be equally
available to all. In future we aim to publish the data tables provided to answer PQs that are not
published in Hansard.
This policy sets out how we will do both of these.
Principles
Publishing responses to ad hoc requests will follow the same principles as ONS uses for publishing
regular statistics. In practice this means ONS will:
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make official statistics equally available to all, subject to statutory provisions for pre-release
access (Principle 2: Impartiality and objectivity, Code of Practice for Official Statistics)
not release underlying data before the release of the statistical release that it underpins. This
is to ensure the integrity of official statistics and prevent speculation in advance of the official
release that could compromise trust in official statistics (Protocol 2: Release practices, Code
of Practice for Official Statistics)
provide statistics, analysis and datasets to meet customer requirements, in as much detail as
is reliable and practicable while ensuring that data released are not disclosive ((Principle 8:
Frankness and accessibility, Code of Practice for Official Statistics; see also next point)
ensure that official statistics do not reveal the identity of an individual or organisation, or any
private information relating to them, taking into account other relevant sources of information
(Principle 5: Confidentiality, Code of Practice for Official Statistics)
publish data tables and analyses produced in response to customer requests, including
Parliamentary Questions that are not published in Hansard, and Freedom of Information
requests, on the ONS website
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publish data in reusable, machine-readable form, aiming to move to non-proprietary formats
as soon as possible
ensure responses meet ONS standards for data descriptions, indicate the source and provide
information on statistical quality
provide data in response to ad hoc requests under the Open Government Licence so that it is
freely available for wider exploitation on a non-exclusive basis
Publishing data produced in response to ad hoc requests
ONS will publish all data and analysis produced in response to ad hoc requests on our website. All
the responses whether paid for or not will be published and a link to the information sent to the
requester. This will ensure that access is available to everyone at the same time.
In future we will aim to provide all data in a non-proprietary open format, such as comma separated
values (CSV), to maximise its potential for reuse.
Parliamentary Questions
If a dataset is too large to be published in Hansard, a copy is placed in the Library of the House of
Commons or Lords, as appropriate. In these cases we intend to publish the question, the response
and the associated dataset on our website once the question and response have been published in
Hansard.
Underlying procedures
Guidance on handling and publishing ad hoc requests for statistical data and analysis is provided on
the ONS intranet. We will review these customer requests to help inform the development of future
published statistics and analyses. We would expect the number of ad hoc requests to reduce as more
data becomes more open, although only experience will show whether that is borne out.
Where it is not possible to meet requests without breaching confidentiality, ONS continues to make
datasets available to accredited and approved researchers. ONS provides access to identifiable data
for research and analysis purposes that add to the public good, through established channels such as
the UK Data Service (formerly the UK Data Archive) and the ONS’s Virtual Microdata Laboratory.
Dissemination
This policy is disseminated by internal publication on the ONS intranet site and external publication on
the ONS website.
Policy revised March 2014