Accredited official statistics

Child and Working Tax Credits Finalised Annual Awards 2021 to 2022 - Geography Tidy Data Guide

Published 13 July 2023

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2021-to-2022/child-and-working-tax-credits-finalised-annual-awards-2021-to-2022-geography-tidy-data-guide

What is tidy data?

Tidy data is a flat comma-separated values (CSV) file, which can be used within any program that handles spreadsheets, like Microsoft Excel. It can also be easily read into programs like R, Python and Statistical Analysis System (SAS) without cleaning the data.

An accompanying metadata document can be found here for further information on the data and what each column contains.

Why have we moved our data to this format?

After reviewing our publications, we were aware that the previous spreadsheet structure for geography tables was hard for users to compare data across years easily, especially at lower geography levels like Lower Super Output Area.

In our user consultation, we proposed to move this data to a tidy format to allow for easier comparisons between both time periods and geographical areas. These proposals were supported in the feedback we received, so we have moved our data into tidy format for this publication.

Using the data with filters in Excel

Follow the instructions below to apply filters to the tidy data:

  1. Open the CSV file in Excel
  2. Click on the “Data” tab in the top pane
  3. Select the “Filter” button with the image of a funnel. This will apply interactive filters to all columns
  4. Click on the column headers to filter for the information you need

Example case: Parliamentary Constituency information

For a worked example, if you wanted to look at the total number of out-of-work claimants in Leeds Central across the years of data we had, you would perform the following steps after applying the filters:

  1. Select “Westminster Parliamentary Constituency” as the filter in the “geography” column
  2. Select “Leeds Central” as the filter in the “WEST_PCON” column
  3. Select “Total” as the filter in the “tax_credit_group” column
  4. Select “Out of work” as the filter in the “work_flag” column
  5. Select “Total” as the filter in the “child_flag” column

This will leave you with all of the data in the file for out-of-work claimants in Leeds Central.

User engagement

Bespoke analysis of tax credits data is possible, although there may be a charge depending on the level of complexity and the resources required to produce it.

If you would like to discuss your requirements, to comment on the current publications, or for further information about the tax credits statistics, please use the contact information at the end of this publication, or from the Statistics at HMRC page.

We are committed to improving the official statistics we publish. We want to encourage and promote user engagement, so we can improve our statistical outputs.

We would welcome any views you have by email to the below address. We will undertake to review user comments on a quarterly basis and use this information to influence the development of our official statistics. We will summarise and publish user comments at regular intervals.

benefitsandcredits.analysis@hmrc.gov.uk.

Contact details

Benefits and credits statistics

Media contact: HMRC Press Office

Statistical contact: J Martin

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