Guidance

Defra group breaches of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

Updated 16 February 2022

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1. Defra group breaches of the Code of Practice for Statistics

A breach of the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) occurs when one or more provisions of the Code has not been followed in situations where an exemption or exception has not been approved by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA).

Rules on pre-release access to statistics are covered in the relevant Pre-release access to official Statistics Orders. The Code applies as if it includes these orders.

If there is a breach of the Code, it must be reported to the National Statistician as set out in the guidance on breach reporting Breach reports and Exemption requests are published on the UKSA website.

In February 2018, the UKSA published Edition 2 of the Code. This superseded Edition 1, which first came in to use in January 2009.

Breach reports submitted by Defra group to the National Statistician between January 2009 and February 2018 under Edition 1.0 of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics are listed in Table 1.

Breaches under Edition 2.0 of the Code of Practice for Statistics are listed in Table 2.

1.1 Table 1

Date Output Organisation Type of breach
7 January 2009 UK Emissions of air pollutants Core department Pre-release access
8 June 2010 Woodland area, planting and restocking Forestry Commission Release practices
19 May 2011 Biodiversity indicators in your pocket 2011 Core Department Pre-release access
7 June 2012 Pesticide usage survey reports - all reports published prior to 2012 Core Department Release practices
16 January 2013 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Release practices
17 April 2013 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Release practices
18 April 2013 Monthly UK slaughter statistics Core Department Release practices
2 May 2013 Farmer intentions survey 2011/12 - England Core Department Release practices
12 November 2013 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Pre-release access
29 January 2014 Total factor productivity of the food chain Core Department Pre-release access
30 January 2014 Forecasts of farm business income by farm type in England Core Department Pre-release access
13 May 2014 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Pre-release access
10 June 2014 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Release practices
8 January 2015 Cereal usage by millers, brewers, distillers and maltsters UK Core Department Release practices
13 January 2015 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Pre-release access
18 March 2015 UK Carbon footprint Core Department Pre-release access
11 March 2016 Preliminary estimates of canopy cover change in British woodland Forestry Commission Pre-release access
6 July 2016 The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) / Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) / Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Breeding bird survey (BBS) Joint Nature Conservation Committee Release practices
4 August 2016 Cereals usage by millers, brewers, distillers and maltsters UK - June 2016 Core Department Release practices
11 August 2016 Preliminary estimates of the changes in canopy cover in British woodlands between 2006 and 2015 Forestry Commission Pre-release access
28 February 2017 Collective report of 09:30 breaches (Forecasts of farm business income; Fly tipping) Core Department Release practices
14 July 2017 Woodland carbon code statistics: Data to June 2016 Forestry Commission Pre-release access
25 September 2017 Monitor of engagement with the natural environment (MENE) survey Natural England Confidentiality
22 February 2018 Cereals usage by millers, brewers, distillers and maltsters UK Core Department Release practices

1.2 Table 2

Date Output Organisation Type of breach
3 May 2018 Statistics on waterbirds in the UK (2018 publication; includes data up to 2017) Joint Nature Conservation Committee Orderly Release T3.6 and T3.9
18 July 2018 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Orderly Release T3.3 and T3.4
2 October 2018 Monitor of engagement with the natural environment: Headline reports and technical reports 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 Natural England Orderly Release T3.3
18 February 2019 Incidence of TB in cattle in Great Britain Core Department Orderly Release T3.6
13 September 2019 Forestry Commission key performance indicators: Headline performance update at 30 June 2019 Forestry Commission Orderly Release T3.3 and T3.4
14 November 2019 Timber price indices: data to September 2019 Forestry Commission Orderly Release T3.6
8 June 2020 Ad hoc statistical release: UK Sea Fisheries Statistics April 2020 Marine Management Organistion Orderly Release T3.6
12 November 2020 Cattle, sheep and pig slaughter statistics Core Department Orderly Release T3.6
18 February 2021 Historical statistics notices on poultry and poultry meat production, 2020 Core Department Orderly Release T3.6
9 March 2021 Quarterly TB in cattle in Great Britain statistics notice Core Department Orderly Release T3.3, T3.4 and T3.6
14 July 2021 UK Statistics of Waste Core Department Orderly Release T3.4
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