Quality Statement
Updated 29 May 2020
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coroners-statistics-2019/quality-statement
1. Introduction
Coroners statistics are published in compliance with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) quality strategy for statistics, which states that information should be provided as to how the bulletin meets user needs: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ministry-of-justice-statistics-policy-and-procedures
The MoJ aims to provide a high quality and transparent statistical service covering the whole of the justice system to promote understanding and trust. This statement sets out our policies for producing quality statistical outputs and the information we will provide to maintain our users’ understanding and trust.
1.1 Core Objectives
We aim to deliver a service in line with our four core objectives:
- Provision of data which are accessible, consistent and fully documented.
- Production of statistics which clearly communicate the story and meet users’ needs.
- Provision of analysis which is timely and based on robust methodology.
- Building capacity, capability and engagement.
Trust in statistics is important as statistics are fundamental to good government, to the delivery of public services and to decision-making in all sectors of society. Statistics provide the parliament and the public with a window on society and the economy, and on the work and performance of government.
Assessing the quality of statistics is not a one-off exercise. It must be done on a continuous basis. This document explains by what measures we will assess the quality of our statistics, what users can expect us to do, and the information we will provide to users to aid them in making their own assessment of the quality of the statistics we produce.
As required by the Code of Practice for Official Statistics[footnote 1] and in line with the Government Statistics Services Quality Strategy[footnote 2] and associated guidance we will measure and report on our quality using a framework based around European Statistical Systems (ESS) Dimensions of Quality[footnote 3].
Statistical quality in the MoJ is defined as meeting users’ needs with reference to the relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, comparability and coherence of the statistics collected, analysed and reported.
2. Principle 1: Relevance
Relevance is the degree to which the statistics meets the current and potential needs of users.
The coroners’ statistics help to understand deaths reported to coroners, these are deaths thought to be violent, unnatural or unexplained or of someone in state detention as well as figures on deaths reported to coroners of individuals detained under the Mental Health Act. The statistics cover post-mortem examinations, inquests held, and conclusions recorded at inquests in England and Wales. This gives a sense of the workload faced by each coroner area and information on how long different cases take to progress through the coroners’ court system. This can be used to inform the public as to how long inquests are likely to take, and whether this is improving or declining.
These statistics strive to be relevant across a range of users, and the coroners statistics team routinely seeks out feedback from both internal and external users to enhance what is published. When a change is requested, we work with all coroner areas - the data providers and analytical colleagues to explore what is possible and whether the data available is fit for this purpose before any change is made.
We have introduced new series where user needs are known and evidence gaps can be reliably filled, for example the post-mortem breakdown was extended to include those conducted using less invasive techniques. These figures were published for the first time in 2020 to address user needs and meet public demand for quantitative evidence on this topic.
In England and Wales, a coroner also handles investigations regarding finds reported to them under the provisions of the Treasure Act 1996. The coroner will inquire into any treasure which is found in their area and establish the identity of the finder. This publication presents annual statistics on the number of reported Treasure Finds in England and Wales.
The publication is accompanied by a statistical tool that users can use to generate graphs, charts and tables and compare different coroner areas and regions. These can help and be used alongside other research and makes it easier to observe figures and trends in specific areas.
3. Principle 2: Accuracy and Reliability
Accuracy is the closeness between an estimated result and the (unknown) true value.
Coroner statistics are collected via statistical returns completed by coroners. The process by which coroners provide their returns can vary according to the case management system they use. Many coroners use a system provided by an external contractor, while other coroners use alternative computer systems or in some cases a paper-based system.
We work with the owners of these datasets to understand how their systems work, how data is collected in these systems and how data is validated upon entry. We seek to understand how the data is used in an operational environment and how this may impact the statistics produced from these systems.
Every effort is made, however, to ensure that the figures presented in this publication are accurate and complete.
Quality assurance checks:
- Returns are individually quality-assured and validated in a process that highlights inconsistencies between years, and between areas.
- Checks are made to ensure that each return is arithmetically correct, e.g. subtotals and overall totals are correctly summed.
- Unusual or outlying values found within returns are queried with the data supplier, to confirm whether these are correct, or that an error exists in the information provided which requires.
- Summary data provided are sense checked against previous returns to ensure that the information provided is logical.
- We verify our data with other related published data sources – E.g. Statistics on registered deaths in England and Wales are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in their series on mortality statistics.
- Deaths in custody is checked against Nomis data to verify the data has been entered correctly.
- Treasure finds is also checked against Annual statistics of the number of objects of treasure finds produced by department for culture, media and sport
- Once all publication products are ready, an analyst external to the Coroners Statistics team conducts a full set of quality assurance checks as set out in an established QA log, noting down any issues found to feed back to the team.
- Any subsequent corrections required prior to publication are actioned and if required any amendments required following publication are made – fully adhering to the departments revisions policy.
Reliability is the closeness of early estimates to subsequent estimated values.
This publication and the data within it are published annually and the publication released in May.
If an error in the figures is reported an update will be made to the publication or, in the case of minor errors, the figures will be revised in the next publication with the correction explained in a footnote. The figure from ONS for total deaths in a year is provisional when first published and is revised in the following publication. This is noted in the main publication.
As Coroners are independent office-holders, there is variation in the way each coroner’s area is structured and managed, and in the mechanisms they have in place for discharging their duties under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. For example, there are differences between coroners as to which cases they consider a substantive “reported death” (and are therefore reported in their statistics) where little or no action is required on their part and no post-mortem or inquest is held. As such, the statistics reflect those cases which each individual coroner considers to be a death reported to them, and the figures for different coroner areas can be compared on this basis.
Further information concerning the Coroners statistics publication can be found in the supporting guidance documentation available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/800864/Coroners_statistics_2018_supporting_guide.pdf
In accordance with the Code of Practice for Office Statistics, the MoJ is required to publish transparent guidance on its policy for revisions. A copy of this statement can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ministry-of-justice-statistics-policy-and-procedures
4. Principle 3: Timeliness and Punctuality
Timeliness refers to the time gap between the publication date and the reference period for the statistics.
The Coroners statistics is published with a ‘time gap’ of around four months after the end of the reference period. For example, statistics for January to December 2019 were published on 14th May 2020.
This ‘time gap’ is felt to be timely and allows us to strike a balance between the need to minimise the delay in releasing statistics and ensuring a robust and high-quality product. For example, the four-month gap allows for any late data returns, provides time for any amendments to initial source data following validation and time for the analysis to be carried out, and a short period for the bulletin to be produced and quality assured.
4.1 Coroners process timeline (e.g. January to December 2019 bulletin):
Punctuality is the time lag between the actual and planned dates of publication for statistics.
Coroners statistics are published at annual intervals at 9:30am on a date which has been pre-announced 12-months in advance, in line with the GSS Code of Practice: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements
Any change to the pre-announced release date(s) would follow the approval of the Chief Statistician for the MoJ and we would explain clearly the reasons for the changes to users at the earliest opportunity.
5. Principle 4: Accessibility and Clarity
Accessibility is the ease with which users can access the statistics and data.
The Coroners Statistics release ensures that statistics regarding deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations and inquests held, and conclusions recorded at inquests in England and Wales are published together annually for National Statistical releases, available on the gov.uk official statistics calendar.
The Coroners statistics also covers the number of treasure finds reported, inquests concluded and verdict of treasure returned. It comprises of both summary information in an HTML bulletin, detailed data tables and a Coroners statistical tool in Microsoft Excel, which helps to address a range of users needs by allowing them to generate a range of tables and graphs on coroner areas and regions of their choice, alongside this technical guide document to aid users understanding.
Both this guide and each release includes contact details for the lead statistician and a team inbox for users to address any concerns. This inbox is routinely monitored and any queries are actioned as quickly as possible.
Published data tables are available in ODS format as standard and low-level data which underpin all published data tools are available in csv format.
The Coroners statistics meets accessibility standards in compliance with public sector legal obligations.
Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the commentary, illustrations, accompanying advice and technical details.
The commentary is written by professional statisticians and aims to be impartial, helping users put the figures into meaningful context. The bulletin is produced independently and figures are subject to strict pre-release access for essential individuals – no other access to statistics in their final form are made available prior to publication.
All technical terms, acronyms and definitions are explained in the bulletin itself (where appropriate), supporting footnotes in the published data tables and in the supporting guidance documentation.
All published data tools are supported by definitional and practical guidance to support users in making accurate and reliable use of the tool functionality.
6. Principle 5: Comparability and Coherence
Comparability is the degree to which data can be compared over time, by region or another domain.
The administrative systems that underpin most of the Coroners statistics data are in operation across all Coroner areas in England and Wales.
It is not possible to directly compare coroner statistics to other related statistics like ONS death counts as the Ministry of Justice’s coroner statistics differ from ONS figures because they count two different, albeit related, events.
The Coroners statistics provide the number of deaths which are reported to coroners in England and Wales, these include deaths reported to coroners which occurred outside England and Wales. The ONS mortality statistics, based on death registrations, report the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in a particular year irrespective of whether a coroner has investigated the death and when the death occurred. These do not include deaths that occurred outside England and Wales. Additionally, ONS counts deaths when they have been registered whilst coroners count deaths when they are reported, as such any attempts to make comparison will not be on the same basis.
There will also be regional variation in coronial areas due to demographics and so care must be taken when comparing regional data. Additionally, deaths are reported to coroners in the area where they occur whereas ONS death statistics are according to place of residence. Consequently, coroners in rural areas will have much greater incidences of deaths reported than their more urban counterparts.
Similarly, the Coroners statistics includes figures for deaths reported to coroners which occurred in state custody but cannot be compared to the Statistics on deaths in prison custody published by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
Differences between the two sets of figures are in part due to three main reasons:
- There is a time lag in reporting processes. The figures for deaths in custody in this publication relate to those deaths when they have been reported to a coroner in the given year and then reported to MoJ, whereas for the HMPPS publication, deaths are recorded directly after they have occurred.
- HMPPS figures include all deaths which have occurred in prison custody including deaths which occurred whilst an offender has been Released on Temporary Licence (ROTL) for medical reasons. Deaths while on ROTL are classed as a separate category in the coroner’s report, and cannot be broken down between ROTL for medical reasons and other types of ROTL.
- If the coroner is unaware that the death occurred in State Detention or classes it under another type of establishment, it may not be recorded as a death in State Detention by the coroner.
A variety of time series are used in the publication. These series include notes of any key events (e.g. policy changes) that may have affected a period.
Coherence is the degree to which the statistical processes that generate two or more outputs use the same concepts and harmonised methods.
The coroner’s publication is the only official statistics that provides statistics on deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations and inquests held, and conclusions recorded at inquests in England and Wales. Coroners are independent office-holders, and there is variation in the way each coroner’s area is structured and managed, the resource available to them, their case management systems as well as the process by which they provide their returns. Care is taken in completing, analysing and quality-assuring the data provided on the statistical returns, however these figures are subject to possible inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale collection of this type. Every effort is made, to ensure that the figures presented in this publication are accurate and complete. Comparisons with other related statistics will have a broad read-across to deaths overall, and deaths in custody, but as the previous section explains there are slight differences in timelines and definition. These statistics provide a comprehensive view of:
- Violent or unnatural death
- Death with an unknown cause
- Deaths in prisons, police custody or another type of state detention such as an immigration centre or while detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
- Treasure find inquests
Users are advised to read the accompanying guide on how to use these statistics and to note the differences between this and other mortality statistics.