ONS

UK Infections and Antibody Survey passes key milestone as 3 millionth swab test collected

Set up in days to meet an urgent need for better information on how Covid-19 was affecting the community population, the UK Covid-19 Infection Survey has become a indispensable source of  data on the pandemic. With more than three million swab tests conducted in over two hundred thousand households, the National Statistician thanks and pays tribute to everyone involved.     

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Understanding the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on housing and homelessness

Other issues may have dominated the headlines but 2020 was an important year for UK housing and homelessness statistics. Despite challenging circumstances, the Government Statistical Service and its partners have brought fresh insight to key areas. Here Tony Wilkins outlines recent progress and plans for the future.

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How apprentices are helping to drive statistics in the pandemic

Many of the challenges caused by the pandemic are only answerable with robust and timely data. The Office for National Statistics has supported those taking on apprenticeships in areas like data science, analytics and economics throughout the pandemic to help equip the UK with these much-needed skills. As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Alex Lardner explains why apprenticeships are so valuable to the ONS and the country as a whole.

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Social care: Estimating the size of the self-funding population

Currently, the data on people who self-fund their care is limited. With differences in how data is collected in local authorities and by care providers, there is a significant gap in understanding how care is funded and the impact that has on the adult social care sector. Evie Brown from the ONS, along with Josefine Magnusson from Future Care Capital (FCC), explain how we’re working together to help fill this evidence gap.

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