1. Response to UKSA Monitoring Review on Income and Earnings statistics Joint response from ONS, DWP, HMRC July 2015 1

2. Overview presentation Introduction and context Framework for taking work forward: -New work and improvements to date -Short term improvements -Longer term issues How to move forward together 2

3. Introduction Why do statistics on income and earnings matter? -Provide data for policy-makers in tax and welfare and pension reform, macro-economic decisions -Inform the living standards debate and the general public -Provide international comparisons and evidence- base -Required to respond to legislative requirements e.g. EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) reform -Links to Consultation on Measuring Consumer Prices: the options for change 3

4. Available statistics on income and earnings 4 Source: UKSA Monitoring Review, p 12

5. UKSA recognised recent and planned work UKSA welcomed recent and planned work including: -Jointly produced user guide to sources of income and earnings statistics -Work to consider differences in AWE and ASHE -Exploration of nowcasting the distribution of household income -Greater use of Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) 5

6. Main recommendations Address the timeliness of statistics on income from the self-employed Consider how best to provide users with themed analysis Improve accessibility to the wide range of statistics and underlying data Improve guidance on strengths and limitations of data 6

7. The way forward: Started to address issues and themes: Many different sets of information available where there are a number of issues and improvement is desirable Range of audiences for data: expert users to interested citizens In the short term we plan to: Continue to make improvements to information available, and Address the issue that the relationship between the various statistics and data not always well set out Start to address the issue of self employed income In the longer term: Scope the development of a set of more coherent measures to improve the story that the statistics tell 7

8. NEW WORK AND IMPROVEMENTS 8

9. New work and improvements to date Published User Guide to sources of data but would like user feedback Published ‘Measuring Consumer Prices: the options for change’ and would like user input ONS measures to be presented today: Alternative measures of RHDI Supplementary analysis of trends in earnings Effects of Taxes & Benefits (ETB) Nowcasts of median household income Price indices for different sub-groups Real income indices for different sub-groups 9

10. Other new work and improvements Improved commentary and new information in latest DWP releases of -Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2013/14 -Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) Series -Households Below Average Income (HBAI) -Income related Benefits: Estimates of take-up 10

11. Other new work and improvements HMRC developing Survey of Personal Income (SPI) data for High Earners and testing Real Time Information (RTI) PAYE dataset ONS have published additional analysis of longitudinal EU-SILC data -Persistent poverty in the UK and EU http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/household-income/persistent- poverty-in-the-uk-and-eu/2008-2013/persistent-poverty-in- the-uk-and-eu--2008-2013.html -Poverty and employment transitions in the UK and EU: ( http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/household-income/poverty- and-employment-transitions-in-the-uk-and-eu/2007- 2012/poverty-and-employment-transitions-in-the-uk--2007- 2012.html) 11

12. IN THE SHORT TERM 12

13. How to identify the overall picture? Range of data available (including economic wellbeing indicators) Value in bringing together in one place Asking views today on compendia: content, coverage, format 13 ONS: Wellbeing Q1 2015 (June 2015)

14. Improving data on the self-employed Acknowledge difficulties with information from surveys and timeliness of administrative data HMRC working on estimation of personal income streams based on SPI Asking views on options for how to take forward 14

15. Improving information and timeliness Improved information Use of deflators in HBAI and PI following Consultation on Measuring Consumer Prices Finalise method of calculation of uncertainty in HBAI Continue themed analysis of data e.g. ASHE 2015 Improved timeliness Consider introduction of experimental nowcasts for ETB distribution and improve ETB timeliness Complete FRS processing review for timeliness, consider next steps 15

16. Improving access to data FRS, HBAI, PI end user and restricted access datasets should be available via the UK Data Service by early August HMRC making SPI Public Use tables available Implementing the new VML and joint training programme Implementing improvements to.GOV release calendar Improved use of NOMIS and Web Data Access for ASHE and ETB ONS Beta prototype website will be open for feedback soon – follow blog at digitalpublishing.ons.gov.uk 16

17. LONGER TERM ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS - 17 Building a more coherent picture of income and earnings

18. Potential to use administrative data and data linking FRS and DWP administrative data linked for first time in Income related Benefits ONS exploring use of administrative data to produce income statistics as part of the Census Transformation Programme Starting to develop feasibility projects to link data within ONS 18

19. Improving accessibility and timeliness Accessibility: Data access and sharing legislation Timeliness Potential for increased use of nowcasting and estimation techniques Development of RTI data as consistent income data source for employees 19

20. Moving forward together New work and improvements: what are your views? Which should be developed further, what are your priorities? Short term: Compendium idea and options for improving self-employment data Longer term: what does a more coherent and accessible picture of income and earnings look like? How do we work together in the future? 20