Data

Bringing together UK health statistics

Categories: Data, Health, Office for National Statistics, Public Policy, Wellbeing
Hospital corridor

Making government statistics accessible to everyone and coherent across data sets maximises the value they bring to important topics. The ONS has been working with the devolved administrations and health bodies to bring together and improve the statistical coherence of UK health data. Becky Tinsley shares an update on this work and explains how it will help create a deeper and wider understanding of health.

Read more on Bringing together UK health statistics

Excess deaths – a new methodology and better understanding

Categories: Coronavirus, Data, Health, UK Statistics Authority

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened interest in patterns and levels of ‘excess’ deaths, typically defined as deaths over the number that might be expected to occur in an ‘average’ year. But with different organisations using different methods to calculate excess deaths, it can be difficult to build a clear picture. Working across government and the devolved nations, we have now agreed a common UK-wide approach to producing national estimates of excess mortality. As Julie Stanborough explains, this new methodology will give us a better understanding in this complex area.

Read more on Excess deaths – a new methodology and better understanding

How the ONS is transforming its statistics for local areas

Categories: Data, Economy, ONS, ONS Local, Population
Innovation Picture

The ONS produces a huge amount of high-quality data covering the economy, environment, crime and immigration. Over the last few years, we’ve also been focusing our efforts on producing much more granular estimates so we can measure how our society and economy is changing at the local level. Emma Hickman writes about how this work is progressing and what insights we’ve produced. 

Read more on How the ONS is transforming its statistics for local areas

A voice for UK businesses – a milestone for our business insights survey

Categories: Business, Coronavirus, Data, Economy, Office for National Statistics, Public Policy
Image of a person inputting data

Back in March 2020, life changed very suddenly as COVID-19 struck. In the first days of lockdown the ONS set up what it thought would be a temporary rapid business survey to assess how the pandemic was impacting UK businesses. Gemma Rabaiotti explains how four years and 100 waves of responses later, the Business Impact of Coronavirus survey– now renamed the Business Insights and Conditions survey – (BICS) has cemented its place as a timely and vital voice on the challenges facing businesses today.

Read more on A voice for UK businesses – a milestone for our business insights survey