Annex A
National Statistics - Natural and Built Environment Theme Working Group
Housing and People - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
Quality Review of the Survey of English Housing and other related
sources
Project Initiation Document
Background
1. The White Paper "Building Trust in Statistics" set out the framework for
quality assuring National Statistics (NS). This involves a programme of
quality assurance reviews which have been established to ensure that, as
far as possible, NS and other official statistical outputs are fit for purpose,
and that avenues for further quality improvements are identified and
appropriate action taken forward. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that
information needs of users are being met and that the data collection
systems provide accurate statistics in a cost-effective manner without
undue burden on data providers.
2. The Survey of English Housing, which is an NS data source, is carried out
by contractors for ODPM. As the contract is due for re-tendering in 2003,
it was agreed by the Natural and Built Environment Theme Working Group
(NBETWG) that the Survey of English Housing should be subject to a
quality assurance review in 2002. In addition as other NS household
surveys also collect information on housing, the NBETWG agreed that the
housing aspects of these surveys should be reviewed at the same time in
order to ensure that all of the statistical outputs relating to housing meet
the NS objectives.
Information Sources
3. Apart from the Survey of English Housing (SEH) which is primarily a
housing survey, the other major National Statistics household surveys that
collect information on housing are the Family Resources Survey (FRS),
the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS), the General Household Survey
(GHS), the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Census. Brief details are
provided below:
a) The Survey of English Housing: This is a continuous household survey
commissioned by ODPM, and its predecessor Departments, which started
in April 1993. It provides data on housing tenure, accommodation and
characteristics of households for all housing sectors (owner occupation,
social rented, private rented). In addition to collecting data on housing
topics (rent, mortgages, type of accommodation etc) data is collected on
attitudes to the local area, and on other topics of concern to the
government (eg car ownership, access to bus services).The survey is
designed to produce an achieved sample of around 20,000 household
interviews per annum.
b) The Family Resources Survey: This is a continuous survey of 24,000
households per annum commissioned by the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP). The survey, which was launched in October 1992,
collects information on income in greater detail than the SEH. Like the SEH
it collects data on housing tenure, characteristics of the household,
housing benefits, rent payments and mortgage payments. Other housing
topics covered include accommodation type, number of rooms, number of
bedrooms, type of mortgage, use of mortgage payment insurance, central
heating by type of fuel.
c) The Expenditure and Food Survey: This continuous household survey,
which was previously known as the Family Expenditure Survey, is an Office
for National Statistics survey of household expenditure. It collects data from
6,000 households per annum on housing benefits, rent payments, and
mortgage payments. Other housing topics are housing tenure,
accommodation type, number of rooms, number of bedrooms, central
heating.
d) The General Household Survey: This is a multi-purpose ONS survey of
8,000 households. The information collected relevant to housing includes
tenure, accommodation type, date when built, number of rooms, central
heating by fuel
e) The Labour Force Survey: This is very large household survey, 48,000
households per annum, which is primarily a labour market survey. The
information collected relevant to housing includes tenure, household
characteristics. The amount of housing data collected was reduced when
the SEH was set up; previously the LFS included a special housing trailer.
f) The Census: This is a count of people, households and dwellings in the UK
normally at a 10 year interval. Because it is a count, not a sample, results
are available down to small geographical areas. Data collected relevant to
housing includes tenure, type of accommodation, floor level, amenities,
number of rooms, central heating.
4. In addition the English House Condition Survey is a very important
housing survey also commissioned by ODPM, but as it is currently outside
the scope of NS it will not be considered except in relation to the potential
for establishing a merged survey (see below). A number of other surveys
collect a limited amount of information about housing for background
purposes (eg the British Crime Survey) but these will be excluded from this
Review.
Nature of the Review
5. In terms of the categories of review adopted by the National Statistics
Planning Board it is proposed that this review should be a "Standard
Review" which is a review appropriate to statistical outputs that are
important but where there are no known concerns. The purpose of a
Standard Review is to ensure that the outputs are (still) of good quality and
fit for purpose.
Fitness for purpose of the outputs: Users will be consulted to establish
their requirements and whether they consider that their needs are being
met. The form of consultation will include a user seminar and the
circulation of a questionnaire to users.
Appropriateness of the methodology and processes: An independent
methodological study of the SEH will be commissioned. The review will not
cover the detailed methodology of the other surveys, but will consider the
actual housing questions asked, and how the data are used. A useful
output would be a list of 'preferred sources' for particular variables.
There will also be a separate feasibility/scoping study by an independent
expert of the advantages and disadvantages and feasibility of combining
the EHCS and the SEH.
Technical topics to be covered by the methodological review of the SEH
include: sample size and design (including stratification and the possibility
of including a panel element), the choice of grossing method, the potential
for using imputation. In addition the review should consider the technical
aspects of the more general questions listed below.
Questions to answer and scope of the review
6. The basic question to be answered is 'Are the housing statistics, obtained
from the SEH and the other NS household surveys, fit for purpose?'. This
in turn requires the main uses and users to be identified. Subsidiary
questions include
 Are there any important needs that are not being met ?
 Are the statistics being collected in the most cost-effective manner ?
This leads on to a set of further questions
a) Should the SEH be linked/combined with the EHCS in order to
provide better value for money, and provide an improved analysis
linking the physical characteristics of dwellings to a wider range of
household characteristics ?
b) Should the SEH be included in the planned Integrated Social
Survey, which would combine the various ONS household
surveys ?
c) If the SEH remains as a separate survey should the sample size be
increased in order to provide results for smaller geographical
areas and more accurate national results for smaller housing
sectors, in particular the private rented sector(PRS), or for smaller
social groups eg. ethnic groups ? (Combining years is an
alternative for variables that change relatively slowly but not for
more volatile variables such as rents.) As an alternative to an
overall increase in sample size should there be a specific ethnic or
PRS boost, in order to provide better housing statistics for these
groups ?
d) Should the SEH be modified to collect information on dwellings as
well as households ? (It is believed that a slight extension of the
data collected, to include a limited amount of data on empty
dwellings and on occupied second homes, would allow results to
be produced in terms of dwellings.)
e) Can publication/dissemination of SEH results be improved both in
format and in terms of timeliness ? Specific questions include: Is
the traditional form of publication still appropriate? Should SEH
results be published in isolation or should there be a broader
housing publication containing results from various sources ? Can
arrangements for making data sets available to outside researchers
be improved ? Should packages of regional data sets be produced
for use by local authorities ?
f) Is best use being made of the surveys other than the SEH that
collect housing data ? Are the correct questions being asked ?
Could data from a number of surveys be combined to give
improved estimates based on a larger sample ? How would the
situation be changed by the proposed Integrated Social Survey that
would combine the LFS, EFS and GHS ?
Timing
Appointments to the Review Board have been made (see Annex 1) and the
Review is likely to run until February/March 2003.
Annex 1
REVIEW BOARD
Name
Bruce Oelman
Barbara Noble
Edward Kafka
Peter Lynn
Organisation
ODPM Housing Statistics
ODPM Housing Statistics
ODPM Housing Statistics
University of Essex
Stephen Wilcox
Keith Kirby
University of York
ODPM Research Analysis
and Evaluation
ODPM Housing Private
Sector
ODPM Housing Statistics
David Woodward
Steven Wellington
Role
Chair, Review Sponsor
Vice Chair
Review Manager
External Academic
Advisor
External user
Internal User
Internal User
Secretariat
Annex 2
Review Timetable
Month
Methodology review stages
2002
May
June
First meeting of Steering Group to agree terms of
reference
Initiate short review of SEH
and EHCS
Main methodology review to Advertise review to users in
tender
SEH report, on ODPM/ ONS
websites etc
Agree methodology review
Plan seminar date for
contractor
consultation
Consider format of annual
Draft questionnaire and
publication.
circulate
Consider current
Plan seminar in detail
methodology, best practice
etc
Review report on possible
Hold seminar
merger of EHCS and SEH.
Questionnaires returned
Review methodological
Questionnaires analysed
report, and results of user
consultation if these
produce methodological
issues
Second meeting of Steering Group
ODPM respond to methodology and user
recommendations; draft final report
July
August
September/
October/
November
November
December/
January
2003
February
March
User consultation
Steering Group agree report and action plan
Final report and action plan published