Research and analysis

DCMS Statistics Workplan 2019/20

Updated 21 March 2024

1. Introduction

This work plan outlines the priorities and plans for statistics in DCMS in 2019/20. These are based on user feedback and departmental priorities and aligned with the pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value. A summary of key achievements and developments during 2018/19 is also provided.

Feedback on this work plan is welcomed. Please contact the DCMS statistics team at: evidence@culture.gov.uk.

2. Priorities for 2019/20

The top priorities for DCMS statistics for 2019/20 are:

Trustworthiness: To improve the information provided to users on the quality assurance and methodological approaches used to produce our statistics

Quality: To review the methodology we use to significance test our statistics, to improve consistency and transparency

Value: To add a statistics release on earnings to our suite of DCMS economic estimates, to enhance the range of information provided to users on DCMS sectors

To work with ONS and others to develop data access and methodological approaches to producing productivity estimates for DCMS sectors

In addition to these top priorities, DCMS statisticians will continue to produce regular outputs, briefing and advice on the wide range of topic areas within DCMS’s remit.

3. Statistics at DCMS

DCMS employs around 10 statisticians who produce National and Official statistics as well as supporting the department with a variety of advice, analysis and briefing. In line with colleagues across the Government Statistical Service (GSS) our mission is to provide “high quality statistics, analysis and advice to help Britain make better decisions”.

DCMS publishes over 20 statistical releases each year, produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Around 140 Official Statistics are published throughout the year by DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs):

• Arts Council England
• British Film Institute
• Gambling Commission
• Historic England
• Ofcom
• Sport England
• VisitEngland

DCMS provides support and guidance to these organisations to help them meet their responsibilities under the Code of Practice. A calendar of all official statistics releases planned by DCMS and its ALBs can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics.

4. What we did in 2018/19

Our key outputs and developments in 2018/19 are summarised below. In 2018/19 we:

• Provided statistical input for many policy areas including preparations for exiting the EU; measuring international trade in DCMS sectors; measuring the performance of our sectors and understanding diversity in our sectors in terms of participation and employment
• Published 21 Official Statistics releases including a ‘Focus on Loneliness’ release based on Community Life Survey statistics
• Published an evaluation using statistical and econometric methods to evaluate the Superfast Broadband Programme
• Worked with the Office for Statistics Regulation, Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other stakeholders to develop our DCMS Sector Economic Estimates series in response to user demand, including visualisation of key aspects of the statistics and including more information on quality assurance processes in our releases
• Continued to implement the Taking Part Survey five year strategy including: exploring the use of longitudinal data on adults from the survey; reviewing continuation of the youth and child longitudinal panel
• Continued to automate production of our outputs using R and Python
• Shared developments and good practice with ALB statistics producers, including through shadowing and regular meetings.

5. What we plan to do in 2019/20

5.1 Official Statistics releases

In 2019/20, DCMS plans to publish the following statistical releases:

DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates:

• GVA
• Trade
• Employment
• Business demography
• Regional GVA
• Earnings (digital sector)

Taking Part Survey

• Annual Adult release 2018/19
• Annual Child release 2018/19

Community Life Survey

• Annual 2018/19 release & factsheets
• Focus reports on specific topics

Other

• Cyber Security Breaches Survey
• Quarterly DCMS-sponsored museum visits
• DCMS-sponsored museum performance Indicators
• Charitable giving to museums indicators
• Sport Satellite Account
• Reported Treasure Finds

We will also work with ONS on the production of a Tourism Satellite Account.

This year we have scaled back our work on producing ‘Focus On’ reports from the Taking Part and Community Life surveys, to create more time for work on future plans for these surveys.

We keep our publications under review and are always interested in feedback on any of our outputs at evidence@culture.gov.uk.

The Code of Practice for Statistics is at the heart of the work of statisticians at DCMS, ensuring we produce statistics and analysis which are independent, robust and relevant to users. Our publications have been reviewed to ensure they align with these principles. In addition to our statistical releases, our key priorities and areas for development for 2019/20 are set out below, under the three pillars of the Code.

Trustworthiness: “Confidence in the people and organisations that produce statistics and data”

We will:

• Ensure Data Protection Impact Assessments are in place and reviewed regularly for the surveys run by DCMS’s Central Analysis Team
• Review our Data Access Agreements to ensure access arrangements are fully documented and appropriate systems are in place to manage these
• Develop a Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) data strategy to improve how we use, access, and ensure the best quality of our data.
• Support the development of the National Data Strategy to drive the collective vision that will support the UK to build a world-leading data economy

We will also:

• Where we have produced ad hoc analysis for external users, we will publish it so it is available to all
• Continue to inform users of the publication of our statistics via our Twitter account and user newsletters
• Improve understanding of our key outputs among DCMS policy teams by holding teach-in sessions after key publications, summarising the methodology, headline findings and strengths/weaknesses of the data
• Hold briefing sessions with DCMS press office, private offices and policy colleagues to remind them of the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics and the risks associated with breaching the Code
• Amend DCMS pre-release procedures to strengthen awareness of the conditions of pre-release access whilst maintaining efficient administrative processes

This work plan is also a key element of our commitment to ensure our plans, priorities and progress are transparent.

Quality: “Data and methods that produce assured statistics”

We will:

• review our quality assurance procedures to ensure the quality of our outputs is maintained and clearly documented.
• In particular, we will update and expand our quality reporting, providing clear, up to date quality information alongside all our statistical series.
• We will also review our methodology and technical documentation to ensure it is up to date and proportionate for all our statistical series.

In addition, we will:

• Work closely with other government departments to make best use of available data sources and facilitate a coherent approach to statistics on key themes including:
• Further developing the DCMS Sector Economic Estimates series. This will include work to estimate productivity in our sectors
• Actively participating in cross-government work on trade statistics
• Working with ONS and ESCoE to develop measures of the digital economy, including the sharing economy
• Supporting cross-government work on topics covered by the Community Life Survey, particularly with ONS and MHCLG in connection with community cohesion, community integration and loneliness, ensuring the Community Life Survey is used effectively to inform this work
• Collaborating with ONS, VisitEngland and Visit Britain to understand tourism trends
• Collaborating with ONS and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre to better understand diversity in the Creative Industries
• Be transparent about methodological developments including:
• Reviewing the methodology of the sport satellite account
• Developing estimates of productivity in DCMS sectors for the first time
• Staying abreast of the review of SOC codes and escalating potential issues to ONS and DCMS policy colleagues
• Exploring the feasibility of producing modelled local authority estimates for the Community Life Survey in response to strong user demand
• Exploring outstanding issues relating to push-to-web survey methodology based on our experiences with the Community Life Survey and setting up a GSS expert group to help establish best practice in this area
• Reviewing the experimental approach to collecting longitudinal data for adults, youths and children in the Taking Part web-panel
• Sharing lessons learned from these survey developments through publications and at events such as the GSS methodology symposiums

• Improve the quality of our outputs, in terms of accuracy, reliability, coherence and timeliness by:

• Increasing transparency about our QA and methodological approaches
• Exploring approaches to ensure QA is embedded into automation of processes for the production of statistics
• Reviewing significance testing approaches across our outputs to improve consistency and transparency

We will also deliver Quality training for statistics producers at DCMS and in our ALBs.

Value: “Statistics that support society’s needs for information”

We will continue to work closely with policy teams and other users to ensure our outputs are prioritised to meet their needs and support key decisions. We anticipate that in 2019/20 this will include:

• Working to secure ‘National Statistics’ badging for DCMS economic estimates
• Working collaboratively with other analysts and departments to produce a robust evidence * base on DCMS sectors to inform negotiations on trade and exiting the EU
• Working with ONS and colleagues in the digital sector to produce analysis of earnings data for that sector
• Understanding trends in participation in our sectors and differences in participation by sociodemographic groups, to help promote equal access to culture and sport and to support the work of the Race Disparity Unit
• Working with ONS and the Office for Civil Society (OCS) on measurement and analysis to inform the cross-government work on loneliness
• Carrying out investigatory analysis of longitudinal data from the Taking Part survey, to explore data quality and analytical potential.
• Using data from the Taking Part Survey, Community Life Survey and other sources to support the Department’s place agenda
• Working closely with ONS to understand the drivers behind trends in our DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates series, by sector and sub-sector
• Developing and updating indicators to monitor performance including as part of the Single Departmental Plan
• Publishing evaluations of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programmes including the second Superfast evaluation, evaluation of the Super-Connected Cities Programme, evaluation of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and refreshing the “reducing the digital divide” analysis.
• Provide Key Performance Indicator Dashboards to Senior Management, to track progress of BDUK programmes (Gigabit Voucher Scheme, Local Full Fibre Networks and Rural Gigabit Connectivity).
• Working collaboratively with Ofcom to ensure subsequent iterations of UPRN level connectivity datasets are accurate and consistent.
• Ensuring the Cyber Security Breaches Survey continues to provide value and inform decisions relating to the National Cyber Security Programme
• Producing and publishing ad hoc analysis on request, where resources allow..

We will improve accessibility of our statistics by

• Researching best practice for publications via ONS advisory services
• Adding screen-reader descriptions to figures in reports and tweets
• Minimising the use of technical terms and ensuring clear explanations are given for any which are needed.
• Prioritising, where possible, the archiving of survey data on the UK data service to enable researchers to undertake analysis, maximising the use of data.

We will improve efficiency by

• Extending the scope of the Taking Part questionnaire to reflect the growing number of policy areas covered by DCMS and achieve maximum value from the survey.