ScotStat Annual Stakeholder Conference 2010 Challenges and Opportunities in Statistics Sandy Stewart Senior Statistician Secretary – ScotStat Board

Contents What is ScotStat? What does ScotStat do? Who are the members? What are their interests? Code of Practice & Assessment Process Conference 2010 – Challenges and Opportunities

What is ScotStat?

ScotStat is the network for consulting data users, data providers and other stakeholders about official statistics in Scotland. – registered membership – active web site – consults and surveys members Board oversees and guides activity relating to ScotStat – meets twice a year – annual conference – ScotStat Board Support Group – User Engagement Subgroup Committees represent the range of statistics produced by the Scottish Government

ScotStat Committees SAC - Scottish Agriculture Committee SESCG – Scottish Economic Statistics Consultants Group SCJC – Scottish Crime and Justice Committee NESAC – Natural Environment Statistics Advisory Committee HCC – Health and Care Committee SWSLG – Social Work Statistics Liaison Committee SBEC – Scottish Built Environment Committee PAMS – Population And Migration Committee MDAG – Measuring Deprivation Advisory group DEECS - Data Exchange in Education and Children’s Services (defunct) STTC – ScotStat Transport and Travel Committee SNS – Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics Various sub/working groups Virtual groups

What does ScotStat do?

Broad activities and achievements Improving national indicators Improving local indicators Developing new products with advice from expert users - Scottish National Accounts Project – consultation underway on data being developed Establishing standards, definitions and classifications Minimising burden on providers Maximising support to users

Who are the members?

Total Registered Members – 1/11/2010 Total – 2,120 –of which: –492 – 23% - Local Government – % - Central Government – % - Higher/Further Education – % - Other Public Sector – % - NHS – % - Private Sector – % - Student – % - Voluntary Sector – % - Individuals (self empl & not working)

Membership changes – 1 Nov 2009 – 1 November Organisation diffdiff (%) Local Government % Central Government % Higher/Further Education % Other public sector % NHS % Private Sector % Student % Voluntary Sector % Individuals (self empl & not working) Total 1,9332, %

Membership changes – 1 Nov 2008 – 1 November Organisation diffdiff (%) Local Government % Central Government % Higher/Further Education % NHS % Private Sector % Other public sector % Student % Voluntary Sector % Individuals (self empl & not working) % Total 1,6761, %

What are Members’ interests?

Members’ Interests Economy & Labour Market % Demography % Children & Education % Population & HH surveys % Health & Social Care % Housing & Homelessness % Environment & Sus Dev % Crime & Justice % Local Government Finance % Agriculture, Fishing & Forestry %

Code of Practice – Assessments How well are we doing?

Code of Practice – Protocol 1: User engagement - practices 1.Identify users. Document their statistical needs, and their wishes in terms of engagement. 2.Make users aware of how they can find the information they need. 3.Take account of users’ views on the presentation of statistics, and associated commentary, datasets and metadata. 4.Provide users with information about the quality of statistics, including any statistical biases. 5.Involve users in the evaluation of experimental statistics. 6.Seek feedback from users on their experiences of the statistical service they receive, data quality, and the format and timing of outputs. Review the feedback systematically. 7.Consult users before making changes that affect statistics (for example, to coverage, definitions, or methods) or publications.

ScotStat Conference 2010 Challenges and Opportunities Rob Wishart – SG Chief Statistician Neil Jackson – UK Statistics Authority Presentations –Aligning Justice Statistics to National Outcomes –Improving the Coherency and Focus of School Statistics Products –The Future of Large Scale Surveys –The Migration Toolkit –The Patient Experience Survey and Its Use in Improving Service Delivery

ScotStat Conference 2010 Challenges and Opportunities Share your views and experiences in the workshops –How can users more effectively prioritise their data needs? –How can SG make its data most relevant to users’ needs? –How can we better ensure that statistics impact on service delivery? –Would users benefit from an increased role in the production of statistics?