The United Kingdom Health Statistics theme groups

Aim 1

We aim to improve access to official statistics.

Progress

1. Office for National Statistics (ONS) has launched an interactive tool which gathers all official adult social care publications in one place. The landscape tool was launched in July 2020, and it is updated every month. There are plans to integrate this with a matrix of different social care topics. This will explain the situation in each of the four nations and tell users whether data are comparable.
2. Local Government Association (LGA) and NHS Digital are working together to include additional data from Official Statistics (Safeguarding Adults) onto Local Government Association’s LGInform tool. The tool already includes safeguarding data that was released as part of the NHS Digital publication on Mid-Year 2020-21 Adult Social Care Activity. The data shows how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the demand for aspects of adult social care services. It also shows how the pandemic has affected the way services have been provided. This data will be displayed in LGInform with LGInform similar data collected by LGA to give more detailed information about the pandemic.
3. NHS Digital, now NHS England, released the Adult Social Care Data Hub in 2022 that brings publications, dashboard, code, collection guidance and metadata together into one centralised platform.

Aim 2

We aim to improve coherence of official statistics and the UK four nations.

Progress

1. Work has been done to make sure NHS Digital publications are all in similar formats. These publications provide most adult social care official statistics. More publications have now moved to HTML formats. The outputs have been reviewed and added further standardisation. The open data formats have been improved according to best practice.
2. Summary report has been produced to bring together important messages around adult social care data from all official statistics and other data sources. This information will be presented in a new Official Statistics release. NHS Digital is working on this and the new release will be published on 25 March 2021.
3. NHS Digital, now NHS England, and Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have been reconciliating work that has previously been carried out to minimise the differences in net expenditure figures. This has reduced disparities in figures produced over the last year.
4. Representation on the UK four Nations Adult Social Care Group continues to be provided, and have produced a four nations matrix comparison spreadsheet that can be downloaded from the Adult Social Care interactive tool.

Aim 3

We aim to reduce duplication in data collection to make sure producers of official statistics are working efficiently.

Progress

1. We have identified that blind and partially sighted data collection could be an alternative data source. By using this data source we could reduce duplication. We could also reduce the amount of work local authorities would need to do to provide the data to NHS Digital. This project would need new funding to develop.
2. ONS will be commencing a feasibility study into a new survey of unpaid carers.

Aim 4

We aim to reduce duplication in data analysis to make sure producers of official statistics are working efficiently.

Progress

1. NHS Digital have been gathering requirements for a new centralised analytical tool that will replace the National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS). This project will need new funding to develop. But when the tool is created it will help stop the same work being done by different producers of statistics.
2. Councils and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) regions develop similar products, but they are funded and produced separately. This means that there are risks that information may be inaccurate. It also means that resources could be being wasted. The Analytical Hub data visualisation tool has been improved by adding historical data in a more effective and efficient way.
3. In February 2022, NHS Digital’s accredited official statistics about workers that are employed by the local authority has been transferred to Skills for Care (SfC). The data is displayed with their data and analytical release on total adult social care workforce. This was transferred because the underlying data source is the same and is controlled by SfC.
4. The Office for Statistics Regulation have been working to make sure that SfC are legally entitled to produce official statistics as an organisation. T This is important because it will help make sure there is no loss of trust, quality or value in transferring the Adult Social Care Workforce data publication from NHS Digital to SfC. ONS will continue to support SfC in their wider adoption of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Aim 5

We aim to speak to with users and work out the most effective ways of addressing the most important information needs and evidence gaps.

Progress

1. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have reached a client level dataset based on existing Short and Long Term support (SALT) aggregate data collection. This is a major success and gives legal basis to NHS Digital to receive the data. This will allow for more timely and detailed analysis on aspects of social care activity.
2. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have commissioned the Institute of Public Care to review the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF). ADASS are engaging comprehensively with users to suggest new measures that are more useful to users. The work has been delayed, but the recommendations were shared in December 2020 and local authorities were encouraged to give feedback. A working group will now refine the recommendations to create new measures that can be used.
3. DHSC have commissioned Ipsos Mori to review whether the social care service users’ survey and the carers’ survey are representative. The aim is to improve the quality and value of Adult Social Care survey data. The work has been delayed but is still ongoing.
4. NHS Digital has developed a summary report that brings together important messages around adult social care data from all official statistics and other data sources. This information will be presented in a new Official Statistics release and it will be published on 25 March 2021. This will clearly show evidence gaps in context for users.
5. DHSC have published Care Data Matters in February 2023 which calls for users to engage with producers on data needs and includes the publication of Ipsos Mori’s work assessing the full survey’s approach.

Contact

For further information contact Jason Snowden, Department of Health and Social Care on GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk.

Members

Jason Snowden (Department for Health and Social Care, chair)

Jane Winter (NHS Digital, secretariat)

Robyn Wilson (NHS Digital)

Sophie John (Office for National Statistics)

Louise Chapman (Care Quality Commission)

Phillipa Lynch (Local Government Association)

Damian Furniss (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services)

Aim 1

We aim to co-ordinate release dates of data about alcohol and health.

Aim 2

We aim to make our terminology clearer and more consistent.

Aim 3

We aim to help users understand the range of questions asked in surveys about alcohol consumption.

Aim 1

Harmonise methods. Identify where cancer statistics cover similar topics.

Aim 2

Harmonise methods. Where statistics cover similar topics, we aim to remove or justify methodological differences.

Aim 3

Improve coherence. We will aim to coordinate releases of cancer data across producers and nations.

Aim 4

Improve coherence. We aim to make our terminology clearer and more consistent across outputs.

Aim 5

Improve accessibility. We will aim to improve the access to cancer data by creating a centralised hub for available data.

Aim 6

Improve accessibility. We will improve signposting of cancer statistics across producers through a publication matrix and where the data can be found. This will be published on the Analysis Function webpages and on statistics producers own web pages.

Aim 7

Understand user needs. We will aim to engage with our users to understand how best to present statistics.

Aim 8

Understand user needs. We will aim to engage with our users to identify any gaps in cancer data available.

Aim 1

We aim to improve the visibility of outputs across theme group organisations. This also involves identifying areas that would benefit from coordination to improve coherence.

Aim 2

We aim to improve our understanding of our users and coordinate user engagement.

Aim 3

We aim to identify evidence gaps and priority areas for development across the topics.

Aim 4

We aim to work together to develop requirements to improve the availability of children’s population data by ethnicity, and possibly other measures, for use as denominators and the production of rates by ethnicity.

Aim 5

We aim to review the use of geographical breakdowns in outputs, particularly Office for National Statistics (ONS) outputs that cover England and Wales combined.

Aim 6

We aim to monitor post-pandemic recovery in our statistics. Some new opportunities to share data were developed in response to the pandemic. We will identify which of these which opportunities were most useful and continue to support them.

Contact

For further information contact Hannah McConnell, Office for National Statistics (ONS) at GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk.

Members

Andrew Parker (Department of Health and Social Care)

Helen Duncan (Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities)

Isabelle Griffin (Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities)

Verity Pooke (Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities)

James Wallis (NHS England and Improvement)

Dan Collinson (NHS England)

Kate Croft (NHS England)

Amanda Sharfman (ONS)

Chloe Stevens (ONS) — Secretariat

Hannah McConnell (ONS) — Chair

Pamela Cobb (ONS)

Catherine Falconer (UK Health Security Agency)

Colin Campbell (UK Health Security Agency)

Craig Thomas (Welsh Government)

Aim 1

We aim to provide meaningful comparisons of secondary care waiting time and performance statistics across the UK. The comparisons should concentrate on similarities between the data rather than differences.

Progress

Work is ongoing to determine the mechanism for providing comparisons, and a written document will be produced and published to communicate the findings. The first subject for comparisons will be elective wait times.

Aim 2

We aim to look at outcome metrics to account for devolved policies and differences in data definitions.

Progress

Work is ongoing to identify outcome metrics, which will run alongside work outlined in aim one.

Aim 3

Contribute to the development of statistics and act as a conduit between producers of statistics across the UK. This will help ensure coherence across the UK in the longer term.

This theme group has been paused.

Aim 1

We plan to create an online area to help members of the group work together. Users will be able to use the online area to: talk to each other, share documents, share publication dates and calendars.

Aim 2

We plan to start talking about prevalence and differences in methodology and terminology between nations. The national prevalence leads will continue developing their own prevalence estimates but meet with a view to aligning methods and terms where possible and for group learning, and report back to the group.

Aim 3

We plan to talk to other theme groups to see if there might be some useful cross over or if guests joining from other theme groups would be informative such as alcohol or mortality where there are close links.

Aim 4

We plan to share what we have learnt about how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people who use drugs.

Aim 1

Make available a list of currently published end of life care statistics by June 2023.

Progress

A draft has been completed and work is ongoing.

Aim 2

Identify data gaps in end of life care statistics and explore possibilities for using currently collected data better.

Aim 3

Identify data gaps in end of life care statistics and promote the need for new data.

Contact

For further information contact Andy Pring, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) on GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk.

Membership

Andy Pring (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Chair)

Naa-Dedei Ellis (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Secretariat)

Jason Snowden (Department of Health and Social Care)

Amanda Little (Care Quality Commission)

Neil Bannister (Office for National Statistics)

Ed Manning (NHS England and NHS Improvement)

Giles Foster (NHS Digital)

Aim 1

We will decide on joint priorities going forward, we will set out a workplan with high-level aims for the Health Inequalities Theme Group. The workplan will include ways to measure progress and identify subgroups of people to lead each piece of work.

Aim 2

We aim to harmonise methods.

Aim 3

We aim to explore ethnic inequalities.

Aim 4

We will identify priority areas for development and create plans to make improvements in these areas.

Aim 5

We aim to improve user engagement with statistics, data, and publications.

Aim 6

Organisations will share details of planned work in advance. This includes sharing indicative release dates.

Aim 1

We aim to work together to:

• improve the visibility of outputs
• co-ordinate publications
• improve the coherence of Official Statistics across producers and within the four nations

Aim 2

We aim to work together to:

• harmonise methods and definitions used in mental health analysis, where possible
• help users understand differences between methods and terminology used in mental health analysis

Aim 3

We aim to:

• improve our understanding of our users
• coordinate user engagement

This will enable us to identify evidence gaps and priority areas for development and improvement.

Aim 4

We aim to:

• improve the coverage and quality of mental health data
• reduce the need for duplication of data collections

Aim 5

We aim to share knowledge and insights to help monitor post-pandemic recovery of mental health.

Aim 6

We aim to improve the support and training available to users of mental health data.

Members

Cher Cartwright (NHS England) — Chair

Alex Nesbitt (Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) — Secretariat

Gabi Price (Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities)

Peter Sellen (Department of Health and Social Care)

Carl Child (NHS England)

Dorothee Schneider (Office for National Statistics)

Giovanna Potato (Care Quality Commission)

Kathryn Faulkner (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust)

Naomi Launders (University College London)

Aim 1

We will keep group members informed of upcoming mortality publications, as well as informing each other of changes and developments of any new and existing methods and definitions.

Aim 2

We aim to ensure group members to be kept informed of changes to death certification as a result of the introduction of medical examiners and the likely impact on statistics.

Aim 3

Replace 21st century mortality files publication with an electronic version that provides detailed data in a user-friendly format.

Aim 4

We aim to coordinate publications, analysis and advice. Reduce duplication and deliver efficiencies.

Aim 5

Identify priority areas for development within the topic and develop plans for each area identified.

Aim 6

Coordinate user engagement and deliver a seamless service to users.

This action plan will be published soon.

Aim 1

Ensure the group has representation from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by the end of 2022. 

Progress

This aim has been achieved. 

Aim 2

Group members will meet at least 2 or 3 times each year to share updates on recent projects to improve statistics on obesity, physical activity and nutrition. This will help to promote harmonisation and avoid duplication. 

Progress

This aim is currently being achieved. This objective is ongoing. 

Aim 3

Identify evidence gaps and priorities. 

Progress

This aim is currently being achieved by having of policy analysts in the group. This objective is ongoing. 

Aim 4

Investigate the possibility of publishing UK estimates of obesity prevalence by the end of 2023.  

Progress

This aim is ongoing.

This work is not currently possible because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health surveys and national child measurement programmes, which has reduced comparability across the four nations. This will be reconsidered as these data collections evolve following the pandemic. Meanwhile, the group has produced a matrix exploring similarities and differences in current data collections and methodologies. If you would like a copy of the matrix, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk.

Contact

For further information contact Paul Niblett, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), by emailing GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk. 

Members

• Paul Niblett (OHID) – Chair 
• Nick Coyle (OHID)  
• Caroline Hancock (OHID)  
• Craig Timpson (OHID)  
• Jo Nicholas (OHID)
• Gillian Swan (OHID)  
• Adrienne Cullum (OHID)   
• Katie Brown (OHID) 
• Celine Chauvin (OHID) 
• Marika Kulesza (OHID)  
• Alison Neave (NHS Digital)  
• Sharon Thandi (NHS Digital)  
• David Lee (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)  
• Michael Hardie (ONS)  
• Helen Price (Sport England)  
• Flora Jackson (Public Health Scotland)  
• Justine Geyer (Scottish Government)  
• Cath Roberts (Welsh Government)  
• Julie Landsberg (Scottish Government) 
• Deirdre Corrigan (Northern Ireland Department of Health) 
• Maggie Graham (OHID) – Secretariat

Aim 1

We aim to improve access to Primary Care and Dental Data by creating a centralised “hub” of available data.

Aim 2

We aim to reduce duplication and align terminology by reviewing existing publications that cover similar topics.

Aim 3

We aim to identify any gaps in the Primary Care and Dental Data through user research.

Aim 4

We aim to co-ordinate data releases of relevant publications – for example, ensuring publications about GP Appointments and Workforce are released on the same day.

Aim 5

We aim to identify opportunities for any cross team working.

Aim 6

We aim to identify ways which we can develop publications to support the new NHS commissioning structure.

Aim 1

We aim to understand the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on smoking statistics for users.

Aim 2

We aim to co-ordinate the publication of smoking statistics for 2022 to 2023 so they are released at the same time.

Aim 3

We aim to reduce duplication of work.

Aim 4

We plan to remove or explain methodological differences between smoking related questions used with surveys.

Aim 5

We aim to provide data for policy monitoring and development.

Aim 6

We aim to increase user engagement.

Aim 1

We aim to improve signposting of Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) statistics across the various producers.

Aim 2

Improve accessibility and coherence of UEC statistics. Align monthly HES A&E statistics and quality indicators with NHS England’s monthly A&E performance data and produce a joint NHS Digital and NHS England annual A&E report.

Aim 3

Improve accessibility and coherence of UEC statistics. Begin to publish “winter” data all year around.

Aim 4

Improve content of UEC of statistics to address user needs. Look at extending the current HES publication to include more detailed analysis from ECDS, Workforce data, and Health Inequalities.

Aim 5

Improve content of UEC of statistics to address user needs. Produce more coherent, connected publication of winter data linking in data collected by NHS Improvement and UKHSA.

Aim 6

User engagement. Seek user feedback in a more proactive manner.

Aim 7

UK comparisons. Link into work underway on UK comparisons of performance data.