Sharne Bailey, Tony Byrne UK, Office for National Statistics Profiling in the UK 19th International Roundtable on Business Survey Frames Sharne Bailey, Tony Byrne UK, Office for National Statistics

Profiling in the UK Content 09/11/2018 Content  What is the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR)  Sources for updating the IDBR  Data held on the IDBR  Organisation of Business Registers Unit  IDBR units model  What is profiling  How/Why do we profile, what is in scope, profiling constraints  Profiling targets

What is the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR)? Profiling in the UK What is the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR)? Statistical business register providing a sampling frame Complies with EU standards Source for 80 statutory economic surveys Key data source for analyses of business activity 2 million enterprises (businesses) 2.5 million local units (sites) Covers approximately 99% of economic activity in the UK

Profiling in the UK Distribution/Location of Enterprises in 2000 & 2004 2000 2004 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 9.8 8.5 Production 10.2 8.7 Construction 11.0 (3) 11.3 (3) Transport Industries 4.1 3.6 Wholesale and dealing 7.4 6.5 Retailing 13.6 (2) 11.5 (2) Finance 0.8 0.6 Catering 6.6 6.9 Motor Trades 4.5 4.1 Property and business services 21.7 (1) 27.6 (1) All other services 10.3 10.7 Total 100% 100%

Profiling in the UK

Please see website links: Profiling in the UK Please see website links: www.statistics.gov.uk

Sources of data for updating the IDBR VAT HM Revenue & Customs PAYE HM Revenue & Customs Dun & Bradstreet Companies House ONS (and N Ireland) surveys Construction and farm surveys

Profiling in the UK Data held on the IDBR Name, address, geographic codes Size (employment/turnover) Economic activity (SIC 2003) Legal status Demographic data (birth/death dates) Survey selection/response history Company number Country of ownership

IDBR Units Model

HMRC (Customs) sends VAT information to the ONS 09/11/2018 Profiling in the UK HMRC (Customs) sends VAT information to the ONS Enterprise VAT Legal Unit Reporting Unit

HMRC (Revenue) sends PAYE information to the ONS 09/11/2018 Profiling in the UK HMRC (Revenue) sends PAYE information to the ONS Enterprise VAT Legal Unit PAYE Legal Unit Reporting Unit

Profiling in the UK ONS links source data Enterprise VAT Legal Unit 09/11/2018 Profiling in the UK ONS links source data Enterprise VAT Legal Unit PAYE Legal Unit Local Unit Reporting Unit

ONS forms enterprise groups 09/11/2018 Profiling in the UK ONS forms enterprise groups Enterprise Group APEX VAT PAYE Local Unit Enterprise Reporter Subsidiary VAT PAYE Local Unit Enterprise Reporter Enterprise Group Reporter

Distribution of Enterprises by Complexity 09/11/2018

New Units Model 09/11/2018

Organisation of Business Registers Unit 09/11/2018

Mix of desk and visit profiling Resources and targets Dedicated profiling team 10 staff Approximately 525 cases per year, including public sector Mix of desk and visit profiling To date 20 visits in 2005

Profiling in the UK What is profiling? The definition of profiling is; ‘to confirm(prove) which legal and administrative units are contained within an enterprise, group or sub set of an enterprise or enterprise group by communicating with the business’. Thus providing the most efficient structure for the collection of statistical data.

Profiling in the UK Why we do need to profile? EU regulation - four year rolling programme. Requirement to update business register structures on which to draw survey sample. Profiling minimises the risk of duplication or omission ensuring quality of register. Meets need for common approach to data collection across the whole economy. Ensure consistency of output. Meeting statutory requirements for data collection (Statistics of Trade Act 1947).

Profiling in the UK What triggers a profile? Enterprises with 250+ employees and > 1 legal unit. Significant secondary activity, i.e. >100 employment. Local Authorities with > 2000 employees. Central Government with > 250 employees.  Referrals from surveys and data collection unit. Need to resolve immediate problems.

Profiling in the UK What triggers a profile (Continued) Need to deal with businesses that are unwilling or unable to complete survey forms. Enforcement may become an issue. Consider burden on business. . Currently, 2,945 cases fall within criteria; all profiled within four year rolling programme

Profiling in the UK How do we profile? Consultation exercise between survey outputs, National Accounts and business requirements. Report, inform and restructure (update of IDBR). A mix of top down and bottom up approach.  Profile at 3 levels (1) enterprise (2) subset of the group and (3) group level.  Relate this to the business organisational view.

Profiling in the UK How do we profile? (continued) Using information from Companies House and other administrative sources (VAT and PAYE) and information already available from surveys and the internet. Agree data collection entities. Define enterprises - decide whether the enterprise needs to be split into parts. Profile by visits or telephone (or a combination).

Profiling in the UK Actions following a profile. Quality assure % of completed profiles. Monitor response rates. Follow up with survey outputs, data collection and National Accounts (if necessary).

Units in scope of profiling 2005/06 Number of enterprises Employment (‘000) Employment 2000 + 1,033 8,758 Employment 1000 to 1999 438 623 Employment 250 to 999 1,474 757 Total 2,945 10,138

Profiling in the UK

Profiling in the UK

Profiling in the UK

Profiling in the UK 1. During January-March 2005 actively profiling public sector (no vats). 2. No data available for April-May 2004

Profiling in the UK Profiling Issues 09/11/2018 Profiling Issues Often ‘driven’ by survey data collection, affecting priorities. One contact is often not responsible for the full range of information. Requires the co-operation of the business. Business activity crosses UK boundaries but profiling is limited to UK data collection. Relies on a common understanding of definitions between the business and the ONS.

Profiling constraints Gives a better understanding of complex unit structures, however there are constraints;  Expensive  Time consuming  Requires trained staff  Compromise based on quality & resource

Profiling in the UK Summary 09/11/2018 Summary Profiling provides a consistent approach to data collection. Can be a powerful communication tool - provides consistent feedback to ONS staff and to businesses. Is the public face of ONS, explaining our function and encouraging compliance. Helps derive and apply standards.

To further reduce number of profiling referrals. Profiling in the UK Future outlook To achieve European regulation objective of profiling complex businesses within a four year rolling programme. To further improve links with ONS register users, in particular data collection, survey outputs and National Accounts . To fully integrate the re-engineered IDBR as part of the profiling process. To further reduce number of profiling referrals. Participation in the multi national enterprise project.

Profiling in the UK - Questions?