11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 1 The Development of Social Statistics in the European Statistical System Michel GLAUDE Director Social and Information Society Statistics EUROSTAT

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 2 Societal changes and new challenges in Europe Globalisation Population ageing Increased ethnic and cultural diversity Individualisation Innovation and technological change Gender equality?

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 3 The role of the EU In line with subsidiarity and proportionality requirements MS should have the main responsibility for policy design and implementation EU actions are aimed at rising awareness and setting up policy frameworks for action based on the Open Method of Coordination OMC works through: - Setting of common objectives - Exchange of best practices - Reporting by MS according to their national strategies - Synthesis made by the Commission and endorsed by the Council

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 4 Peculiarities and strengths of the European statistical system A relatively new system compared to the national statistical systems Production of national statistics is done by the national statistical institutes, Eurostat does the aggregation… The regulatory instrument: Once Member States have reached agreement (by qualified majority) all EU countries have to apply the programme

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 5 Statistical needs A comprehensive set of Indicators - Structural and SDI indicators but also - Leaken (social inclusion), Education, Gender…indicators Satellite accounts (linked to National accounts) - Social protection, Health, ICT, tourism, labour… Anonymised sets of microdata for the research Community - LFS, SES, EU-SILC, CVTS Statistical analyses, monographic publications High quality is paramount

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 6 A statistical strategy: The essence of the work Stat Tools Stat demands Administrative sources SurveysAccountsOthers: National sources …….. Labour market Short term Stat National Registers Quarterly LFS LCI Health care & Long term care Indicators EU-SILC EHIS SHAHealthy Life expectancy (Nat sources) Others …….

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 7 A statistical strategy: The essence of the work (2) With an European point of view a third dimension (MS) is to be added to the previous matrix Statistical Tools Member States x Statistical Demands x x x

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 8 A statistical strategy : Basic principles Anticipation Cooperation (Incl. with International Organizations) Exploit the potential of administrative sources Enhance comparability. By more input harmonisation? Division of work between NSIs and Eurostat Develop Data Analyses Assess the costs and benefits of statistics Defend the values of Official Statistics

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 9 State of play Important efforts have been made over the last ten years to harmonise the main data collections at EU level by adopting a set of Framework Regulations concerning: - Surveys: LFS,EU-SILC, SES, LCS, CVTS, ICT, AES, EHIS... - Social Accounts: ESSPROS, SHA, Tourism, ICT sector… - Quality reports which are regularly released Moreover: - Main results are disseminated free of charge on the web - Anonymised Microfiles are accessible for Researchers: LFS, SES, EU-SILC, CVTS

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 10 Current Challenges Quality In particular as Comparability is concerned Responsiveness To EU policy makers needs Integration From a practical point of view

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 11 Proposals at a transversal level The “Core Social Variables” project - 16 identical variables collected in every EU social survey concerning Demographic, Economic and Geographic Information - To produce for sub populations information coming from various domains (Labour market,, Health, poverty…) The European Socio-economic Classification (ESeC)

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 12 Proposals at a transversal level (2) The European Household Survey Objectives: Rationalisation and responsiveness A system of Household survey modules Individuals (15+) Regular Modules: - Core variables - ICT usage - Health Indicators Five years Modules - AES - EHIS Ad-Hoc modules to respond to new policy needs: Discrimination, Victimisation, Consumer protection, Care services, Youth, Fertility, Social Capital…

11 September 2008 Expert group meeting on the scope and content of Social Statistics 13 Main Statistical challenges For Migration Statistics A clear shift from national to European issues Mainstreaming Migration in all policy areas and data collection Amending or launching new Surveys Better using administrative information (on residence permits for example) A need for a European Integrated System for the exchange of migration data (both aggregate and possibly microdata) between MS