Welsh Assembly Government | About Statistical Directorate

About Statistical Directorate

The Statistical Directorate collects, processes, interprets and publishes information about the economic and social condition of Wales; and promotes the use of that information in decision making within government and beyond.

We cover a wide range of topics including demography, health, housing, education, training, agriculture, industry, the economy, local government, transport, the environment and the Welsh language.

The Statistical Work Plan 2008-09 sets out the impressive range of statistical work with which the Assembly is involved and provides a map of its future direction. In particular, the aim of this Plan is to provide users of our statistics with information about how our statistical work is organised, the statistical information we collect, our publications and our exciting development programme for the forthcoming year.

The Statistical Directorate Annual Report 2006-07 (PDF 939kB), highlights some of our key achievements, and the range of what we do.

The Dissemination Strategy (PDF 121kB) for the Statistical Directorate within the Welsh Assembly Government has been updated following an extensive public user consultation. You may like to note that this strategy will form part of a dissemination strategy for both the Statistical Directorate and our statistical partners.

We have published Standards Of Service for customers.

We obtain data in a number of ways. We make use of statistics compiled by other government departments. We commission household surveys, for example to monitor housing conditions. We also collect information directly from businesses and other bodies. The Data Collection section provides samples of the forms we use.

National Statistics was launched in June 2001 and most of our outputs are covered by the description. National Statistics is a brand that stands for quality, integrity and freedom from political interference. It provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and meaningful description of the UK's economy and society. National Statistics covers government data produced to the high professional standards set out in the Official Statistics Code of Practice. National Statistics outputs can be access through the UK Statistics Authority website.

The National Statistician has published the National Statistics Code of Practice which sets out the key principles and standards which official statisticians, including those in the Welsh Assembly Government, are expected to follow and uphold. The Code is supported by twelve Protocols which describe how those principles and standards are to be implemented in practice. The first of these, the Release Practices Protocol (PDF 119kB), sets out how the Chief Statistician and, with his or her authority, other members of the Government Statistical Service in the Assembly will carry out their responsibilities in respect of release practices. In accordance with the protocol, a list is available of ministers and civil servants who are given pre-release access to releases. The Revisions Statement (PDF 85kB) shows how the Statistical Directorate conducts its affairs in relation to revisions. These arrangements on how the Statistical Directorate adheres to all protocols are described in a Compliance Statement.