Our data transformation plans
We are improving the ways we collect and use data to produce statistics, making them more frequent, efficient and flexible.
The world is changing fast, and we need to make sure our statistics are as up to date as possible. By constantly transforming the way that we work with data, we can produce statistics that better meet everyone's needs.
You can find out more about our specific transformation plans for population and migration statistics on the Overview of population and migration statistics transformation page.
Watch our animated video to find out why we are transforming the way we produce population statistics.
What we know from engaging with the public on data
We have published an insight summary that highlights public attitudes and expectations on the use of data. It also looks at the public's views on our use of administrative data in producing statistics. It is based on findings from research that:
we carried out ourselves
we asked other organisations to do for us
other organisations carried out
Are people aware of the ONS and how we use data?
While people are generally aware of the ONS, they do not necessarily understand what we do with data, unless they have engaged with us directly. There is evidence to suggest that people often assume organisations link and share their data, particularly across government.
People's views on sharing data are not consistent across all audience groups. For example, unlike older groups, people aged 18 to 24 years will usually not question or spend time worrying about sharing data. This is probably because they have been digitally connected and sharing data online all their lives.
How much trust do people have in our statistics?
People are more trusting of organisations they feel familiar with. According to the Public Confidence in Official Statistics (PCOS) report 2021, awareness of the ONS is high, with three-quarters of people having heard of us.
Increases in the awareness and understanding of our organisation have a positive effect on trust, with levels of public trust in our statistics consistently high.
What do people think about us using administrative data?
As part of our transformation, we want to use more administrative data to produce statistics. Administrative data are made up of information that people provide when they access public services such as the tax, benefits, health and education systems.
Levels of trust that people have in our use of administrative data are influenced by our direct engagement with them. It also depends on us being open and transparent about:
the organisations we source data from
the types of data we use
the reasons why we want the data and how we will use that data
our data collection and storage policies and procedures
the specific benefits to individuals, communities and society as a result of organisations using our statistics
How important is data security to people?
Understanding how data are kept safe and secure is very important to people. However, they find technical words like "aggregated", "anonymised" and "de-identified" confusing, which often raises further questions.
As people understand more about collecting and storing data, they expect organisations such as ours to be open and transparent about the ways we use data.
We will continue to speak to people about their expectations on how we use data and share this information.
Find out more in What we know from engaging with the public on data: June 2023.