Official Statistics

Market access barrier statistics: financial year 2022 to 2023 technical annex

Updated 24 June 2024

Introduction

This annex outlines the methodology, revision policy and data quality information relevant to the market access barrier statistics. This statistic is designated as official statistics under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Its aim is to support users to understand the strengths and limitations of these statistics.

Methodology

This section covers methods of data collection and process of recording the market access barriers.

The Digital Market Access System (DMAS) is an operational system where market access barriers are recorded. This system is a subject to continual updates, and there are time lags associated with some key information fields being updated on the system. This means that some key information could have been updated on the system after the data is downloaded.

Reported barrier statistics have been generated based on the date a barrier was reported on DMAS by Department for Business and Trade (DBT) staff. Resolved barrier statistics have been generated based on the date reported on DMAS, this is when the resolution was reported to have occurred. Barriers on DMAS can be marked as resolved in full, when the issue has been fully addressed, or resolved in part when only a part of the issues related to a barrier is resolved.

Revision policy

DBT complies with the United Kingdom Statistics Authority (UKSA) Code of Practice for Official Statistics. This has set out the revision policy for this release and will notify users when revisions are made to statistics.

The revision policy is used to inform the reasons on why particular data, output, or publication need to be revised. These revisions are in line with the T3.9 of the Code of Practice. The revisions can take form of scheduled and unscheduled revisions.

Scheduled revisions

Scheduled revisions are planned amendments of the published statistics when revised and updated data becomes available.

Revisions due to changes in reported barriers

A barrier that has been reported in one financial year, could be archived due to it being a duplicate, sub-barrier, reported in error, or if it does not meet the DBT definition of being a market access barrier. This means that the statistics from previous financial years may be revised in the next iteration of this release.

Revisions due to changes in resolved barriers

A barrier status can be updated to either resolved in full or resolved in part. If barrier status has changed to resolved in part in one financial year, the status of this barrier could change back to unresolved in the next financial year. This means that the statistics from previous publications will be revised in the next iteration of this release to reflect this change in barrier status. The comparison of resolved barriers from previous releases is not appropriate as it may cause double counting.

Unscheduled revisions

Unscheduled revisions are unplanned, and they can occur due to published statistics released with errors, due to unforeseen changes in methodology, or due to an effect of changes in administrative or management systems.

Revision due to published statistics released with errors

Occasionally errors can occur in statistical processes. There is a thorough quality assurance process in place to prevent these errors and they are constantly reviewed to minimise this risk. If a significant error is found, a revised edition of statistic will be published in agreement with the DBT Chief Statistician.

Revision due to changes in methodology

Where there have been revisions to data accountable to changes in methodology or administrative systems, DBT will ensure that these are clearly stated in the next release.

Due to changes in methodology done in FYE 2021, the market access barrier statistics are not comparable to those published in FYE 2020 ( Market access barrier statistics: financial year 2021 and 2022 )

Data quality

This section covers the quality of the market access data and their reliability. In order to determine whether outputs meet their needs, quality is measured in terms of the quality dimensions of the European Statistical System.

Accuracy and reliability

Statistics on market access barriers are produced using recorded details of reported and resolved barriers on DBT’s DMAS operational system. This system is used to ensure all relevant details relating to an identified barrier are recorded consistently and accessible to those involved in addressing them across government. DMAS entries and barrier statuses are not routinely verified as DMAS is an operational system subject to continual updates by operational staff.

There is a thorough quality assurance process in place to ensure accuracy is maintained when data is downloaded from DMAS and when presented in the Market access barrier statistical release. These processes are constantly reviewed to minimise this risk.

Timeliness and punctuality

This release is planned to be updated with the latest market access barrier statistics covering each financial year period from April to March. The data is downloaded from DMAS with one month lag. This process enables for more accurate information to be available before data is download at the end of April. The statistics in this release have been based on a snapshot of data from Digital Market Access System (DMAS), downloaded at the end of April 2023.

The dates of the future scheduled Market access barrier statistics releases will be pre-announced in advance via the government statistics release calendar. DBT will also notify users if there are any changes to the pre-announced release schedule and provide the reasons for the change.

Accessibility and clarity

In line with the government accessibility requirements, the Market access barrier statistics are provided in the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) which follows the AA accessibility standards for GOV.UK publications. DBT continues to review the accessibility of this release prior to each publication, ensuring it adheres to the government accessibility requirements. This release is also reviewed by the DBT Digital Team. If you have any feedback on the accessibility of this release, please contact AG-MarketAccessTeam@trade.gov.uk

Comparability and coherence

Statistics derived from DMAS can provide a partial picture of market access activity and issues. They do not provide a comprehensive view on underlying market access conditions faced by UK businesses in exporting around the world.

The regional breakdowns presented in this release are used as an indication of market access activity in a particular His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTCs) region. However, this should not be understood as a complete indicator of the market access conditions within HMTC regions, or how they have changed. Instead, it represents the market access barriers that have been reported to DBT.

The numbers of barriers reported and resolved and changes across financial years is not indicative of the scope of value of market access activity, and is attributable to operational factors, such as increased focus on resolving rather than reporting market access barriers or vice versa.

Cost, burden, and confidentiality

The data used in the Market access barrier statistics release are all derived from DBT’s internal DMAS operational system which are recorded by operational staff, and therefore there are no extra resources required to collect data. Due to the automated processes of producing this statistic in the HTML, there is a vastly reduced cost and burden associated with producing the publication compared to if it was done manually. No extra cost is required to publish this statistic release.

There are no confidentiality issues with the data contained in the Market access barrier statistics publication as DBT does not publish disclosive information on any barrier. In line with Government Statistical Service guidance on confidentiality, DBT will ensure that the information published does not reveal the identity of an individual or organisation, taking account of information available from other sources.

Disclosure and suppression

To protect the identity of foreign investors and companies, as well as UK companies, disclosure rules have been applied to the figures in Section 2.3 and Section 3.3 of the market access barrier statistics: financial year 2022 to 2023.

Where there are 5 or fewer market access barriers affecting sectors, the numbers are suppressed, and a letter ‘c’ will denote this.

However, for other sections, there is very minimal risk of individual businesses being identified like in Section 2.2 and Section 3.2. These sections providing number of reported and resolved barriers at HMTC regions level do not have suppressed figures.

These rules have been put in place to minimise risk of disclosure, and the financial, reputational, and operational damage that could occur should exposure happen.