Official Statistics Policy and User Engagement Documents
BSO are a specified producer of official statistics. This means we publish reports and outputs in compliance with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice.
In line with this we have produced a statistics charter and a compliance statement which specifies how we met our obligations to the UK Statistics Authority under the Code of Practice.
FPS Official Statistics for Northern Ireland will be published in the format of a series of annual reports which cover the activity of each of the FPS service areas. Headline results for each FPS service area, supported by relevant charts, infographics, commentary, and user guidance are included in the main body of the reports. The detailed tables which underpin each of the sections, and which provide further trend, demographic and regional breakdowns at Local Government District (LGD) and Local Commissioning Group (HSC Trust) level, are included as Annex tables.
Provisional updates of key figures will be released quarterly as interim statistics until the publication of the finalised annual report.
Policy Documentation
Listed below are various documents to support the publication of BSO Official Statistics.
User Engagement
As Official Statistics producers we are committed to continuous improvement and to ensuring that the statistics we produce meet the needs of our users. The results of user engagement exercises are included below.
If you would like to provide feedback or be included in future user engagement please contact us at our Information Unit e-mail address: info.bso@hscni.net
User Engagement Action Plans
Statisticians in the Information Unit are regularly in contact with key users of the statistics. Initially readership surveys were used to provide an overall assessment of whether user needs were being met (see User Engagement reports for 2018 and 2019 above). However the current approach employed is to undertake focused consultations with key users on a rolling basis. This approach helps to gain greater insight into how the statistics are used and to identify additional specific requirements. In addition, any ad hoc requests for information are recorded centrally in a database and these records are used to provide intelligence from a wider set of users in relation to changing requirements. User Engagement Action Plans, incorporating summaries of identified user requirements, together with their current status and timescales for addressing these needs are provided below. These will be updated regularly as new user needs are identified or addressed as part of our ongoing programme of engagement.