2.4 Quality, Integrity and the European Statistics Code of Practice

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1 2. The Quality of Statistical Information VIII Meeting on Public Statistics Models for the Development of the National Statistical Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean INEGI, Aguascalientes, May Quality, Integrity and the European Statistics Code of Practice James Whitworth 1, Head of Unit, International Statistical Co-operation, Eurostat, European Commission 2 Summary: Maintaining trust in official statistics is a growing challenge for National Statistical Institutes (NSIs). An increasingly sceptical public, competition from non-official statistical sources and the use of statistics as a direct basis for policy decisions mean that they must clearly demonstrate the quality and integrity of the service they produce. This paper will explore some of the issues of public confidence faced by the European Statistical System and the concrete plans that have been put in place to meet them, in particular the European Statistics Code of Practice and the peer reviews that have been undertaken to measure compliance with it. 1. Integrity and Public Confidence Why don't people trust statisticians? There can be very few National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) in the world whose output is accepted totally by the public without question. Even if there are no real confidence issues, the reasons for scepticism can be a matter of perception. In Europe we are no strangers to the perceptions of an often sceptical public. For example, on 1 January 2002, the changeover to the banknotes and coins from twelve national currencies to the euro was greeted with suspicion by some who perceived an increase in the inflation rate. Numerous studies have proved that the effect of the physical change was negligible, but the perception remains. Prior to that, the very criteria for qualifying to join the single currency included statistical elements such as convergence of inflation rates and low levels of public debt and deficit. There was intense scrutiny and, on occasions, criticism of the methodologies used leading to suspicions that the criteria had been "fudged". Furthermore, whenever there are large revisions of time series of key economic statistics the reputations of the statistical offices can suffer. 1 The author gratefully acknowledges valuable input to this paper from colleagues, amongst others, from the International Statistical Co-operation and Statistical Governance, Quality and Evaluation Units at Eurostat. 2 Some views expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of Eurostat or the European Commission.

2 Closer to home, in 2003, allegations of financial irregularities at Eurostat for a brief time led to some doubts about the statistical output of the office. Are we too close to governments? Then there is the question of political intervention. In most countries the NSI is part of a ministry, or is answerable to a minister directly. Factors such as the release of statistics to ministers in advance of publication or the method of recruiting the head of the national statistical service are factors that might lead the public to believe that NSIs are too close to the governments whose performance they are supposed to be measuring, thus leading to a potential conflict of interest. A recent study in the United Kingdom showed that only 17% of people believed that official figures were produced without political interference 3. There has been a steady increase of the use of statistics for official statistics for budgetary purposes (in Europe, the allocation of regional funding, the calculation of the member states' contribution to the EU budget) and for direct input into major political decisions, such as the qualification criteria for the euro, as mentioned above. Independence is a two-edged sword: on the one hand official statisticians need to be free of political interference (and clearly demonstrate they are), but it may be more expedient, for reasons of sustainability of resources, or to encourage the use of reliable statistics by decision makers, to remain in a ministry. This aspect will be covered later in this paper in respect of the European Code of Practice. However it is worth mentioning in passing the concept of National Statistical Development Strategies (NSDSs) 4 which are intended to be a strategic plan for lower income countries to increase the capacity of their statistical services. These should include clear the commitment of governments to support their implementation Is legislation the answer? It is important for statistical offices to demonstrate legitimacy. In Europe there is no shortage of legislation referring to statistics. In the first instance, Article 285(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, as amended in , states: "The production of Community statistics shall conform to impartiality, reliability, objectivity, scientific independence, cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality; it shall not entail excessive burdens on economic operators." Article 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics, the so-called "Statistical Law" refers to the principles underlying Community Statistics: impartiality, reliability, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality and transparency. At the time of writing, this regulation is being revised by the European Institutions. The principles will be revised slightly: professional independence, impartiality, 3 Office for National Statistics: 4 Partnership in Statistics in the 21 st Century (PARIS21): 5 Treaty establishing the European Community (Consolidated version) :

3 objectivity, reliability, statistical confidentiality and cost effectiveness, thus mirroring the wording in the Treaty. Support from respected outsiders Legitimacy and independence are often reinforced by the presence of an outside body overseeing the NSI. Such a body can be purely advisory: the NSI remains part of a government department, but listens to the advice of the body. Or, the NSI reports directly to this body, not government ministers, an arrangement that has recently been introduced in the United Kingdom 6. At the European level, the current revision of the legislation will introduce the concept of the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB) to fulfil this role. The mandate of this body is to advise the Commission on appropriate measures to facilitate implementation of the Code of Practice by the ESS as a whole; and on communicating the Code to users and data providers; to advise the Commission and the Statistical Programme Committee on updating the Code and finally advise the Commission and respond to its questions relating to users' confidence in European statistics. Eurostat, however, will remain a Directorate General within the European Commission. The ESGAB should play an important role in the future providing an independent view on compliance of European statistics with the Code, thus reinforcing credibility in official statistics. In addition the role of the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (in French, CEIES: Comité consultatif Européen de l'information statistique dans les domaines Économique et Social) 7, which was created in 1989 to give an opinion on the Community Statistical Programme, will be revised. We are guardians of other people's information Another aspect of public confidence is that of our obligations towards our data suppliers. Historically, data collection was an act of authority, based on an obligation to respond. Today, for reasons of efficiency, the emphasis has shifted towards a partnership approach. We live in an age when personal and business information is of immense value both to bona fide users as well as those who wish to exploit it for less legitimate purposes. As it can be easily be transmitted, it is essential to demonstrate that data supplied to NSIs is used solely for the purposes for which it was intended. We need a whiter than white approach. The price of getting it wrong Finally, we must always bear in mind that creating public confidence, which is so vital, takes decades and involves a wide range of issues from leadership to communication. But it can be demolished in a matter of minutes for any reason, possibly trivial, either related or unrelated to the statistical production process. Furthermore, in some ways official statisticians might also be also responsible for the integrity of our neighbours' offices: in the same way that a run on the financial markets can spread amongst economies, so can a feeling of lack of confidence 6 UK Statistics Authority: 7 CEIES home page: PORTAL

4 in one country's statistics could have a knock-on effect on trust in the figures produced in a neighbouring country. Unless statistical institutions can successfully demonstrate their integrity and quality, whilst maintaining public trust and confidence, they will be unable to maintain their comparative advantage over unofficial sources who may appeal to users with "quick and dirty" estimates. 2. Quality From public confidence and integrity, it is an easy step to quality. No organisation producing an information service that is unreliable, irrelevant or untimely would command any confidence. There are many examples of quality frameworks: internationally, the Quality Framework for OECD Statistical Activities 8, the IMF's Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) 9, the UN-ECE's Quality Framework, etc.. Eurostat has been working with the Committee for the Co-ordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) to draw links among the practices of international organisations through a project on the "Implementation of Quality Assurance Frameworks for International Organisations Compiling Statistics", associated with a checklist. In addition many NSIs have a commitment to quality, among them Finland 10, United Kingdom 11 and France 12. Within Europe, most of these are based on the principles of the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model, with its nine evaluation criteria: five relating to the means: leadership, personnel management, policies and strategy, resources, procedures; and four relating to the ends: employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, integration with community life, operating results. In 2001, the European Statistics System (comprising Eurostat and the National Statistical Systems of the member states of the EU, plus the other members of the European Economic Area 13 ) adopted the ESS Quality Declaration OECD: 9 International Monetary Fund: 10 Statistics Finland: 11 UK Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007: 12 INSEE: 13 Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

5 This was shortly followed by the European Quality Definition which defines quality as encompassing the following six concepts: Relevance is the degree to which statistics meet current and potential users needs. It refers to whether all statistics that are needed are produced and the extent to which concepts used (definitions, classifications etc.) reflects user needs. Accuracy in the general statistical sense denotes the closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values Punctuality refers to the time lag between the release date of data and the target date when it should have been delivered, for instance, with reference to dates announced in some official release calendar, laid down by Regulations or previously agreed among partners. Timeliness of information reflects the length of time between its availability and the event or phenomenon it describes Accessibility refers to the physical conditions in which users can obtain data: where to go, how to order, delivery time, clear pricing policy, convenient marketing conditions (copyright, etc.), availability of micro or macro data, various formats (paper, files, CD-ROM, Internet ), etc. Clarity refers to the data s information environment whether data are accompanied with appropriate metadata, illustrations such as graphs and maps, whether information on their quality also available (including limitation in use ) and the extend to which additional assistance is provided by the NSI. Comparability aims at measuring the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and measurement tools/procedures when statistics are compared between geographical areas, nongeographical domains, or over time. Coherence of statistics is their adequacy to be reliably combined in different ways and for various uses. When originating from a single source, statistics are normally coherent in the sense that elementary results derived from the concerned survey can be reliably combined in numerous ways to produce more complex results. When originating from different sources, and in particular from statistical surveys of different nature and/or frequencies, statistics may not be completely coherent in the sense that they may be based on different approaches, classifications and methodological standards. Following the adoption of this declaration, an extensive system for monitoring the quality of the statistical services of the European Statistics System was set up 15. In particular, all new legislation for the collection of statistics contains the requirement for periodic quality reports according to the six criteria mentioned above. A Self Assessment Checklist for Survey Managers is a generic checklist for a systematic quality assessment of surveys in the European Statistical System ESS. It has been designed as Eurostat Quality Monitoring page:

6 a tool for survey managers and should support them in assessing the quality of their statistics and considering improvement measures. A Quality Barometer is being set up as a tool for monitoring of the quality of the statistics produced in the ESS. By implementing such an instrument for quality assessment, Eurostat will be able to measure the evolution of the data quality across domains, countries and over time and to use it as an input for benchmarking activities in order to identify structural quality deficiencies but also to exchange good practices for the statistical production processes. It will also serve the purpose of providing better information for management purposes, e.g. regular scoreboards on quality and performance. A Quality Conference is held every two years and is intended to serve as a forum at a European level for discussing recent developments and achievements in the field of quality and methodologies for survey statistics, with a special focus on official statistics. The Q2008 Conference will be jointly hosted by Istat - the Italian National Institute of Statistics - and Eurostat in Rome 16. As usual it will be followed by a satellite conference for international organisations, organised under the auspices of the CCSA. 3. The European Statistics Code of Practice For many years Members of the European Statistical System have, either directly or indirectly, been involved in assisting the drafting and implementation of various global principles underlying statistics, for example the ISI declaration on professional ethics 17, the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics 18 (and their forerunner, the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in the Region of the Economic Commission for Europe 19 ) and the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) 20. In the early 2000s, an extra impetus was given to quality, integrity and public confidence issues in Europe. There were political concerns about the quality of some fiscal statistics which had led to worries about the credibility of the whole system, notably the independence, integrity and accountability of its main actors. So in 2003, the Statistical Programme Committee, a regular meeting bringing together the heads of the NSIs in the European Statistical System, set up a task force to develop a code of practice. As a result, in May 2005, the European Commission adopted the Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and Community statistical authorities and a Recommendation of the Commission on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and Community statistical authorities 21. This included the European Statistics Code of Practice, the entire text of which is in the Annex. 16 Q2008 conference web site: 17 ISI Declaration on Professional Ethics: 18 UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics: 19 Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in the Region of the Economic Commission for Europe: 20 CCSA Principles: 21 Legal instrument for the European Statistics Code of Practice (all language versions):

7 The Code stipulates a range of principles dealing with institutional environment, statistical processes and statistical outputs. It is based on the EFQM model 22. Its fifteen principles are grouped under three titles: Institutional environment 1: Professional Independence. 2: Mandate for Data Collection. 3: Adequacy of Resources. 4: Quality Commitment. 5: Statistical Confidentiality. 6: Impartiality and Objectivity. Statistical processes 7: Sound Methodology. 8: Appropriate Statistical Procedures. 9: Non-Excessive Burden on Respondents. 10: Cost Effectiveness. Statistical output 11: Relevance. 12: Accuracy and Reliability. 13: Timeliness and Punctuality. 14: Coherence and Comparability. 15: Accessibility and Clarity. The Code aims at informing users about the trustworthiness of the statistics and impartiality of the authorities having produced them and providing guarantees to data providers for the protection of confidential data and for limiting administrative burden. As main actors the Code addresses the national and Community statistical authorities and their staff. These comprise the national statistical institutes and Eurostat as well as other national producers of European statistics. Depending on the organisational set up of official statistics, implementation of the Code implies the involvement of a range of actors at national and Community level. The Code may thus provide a stimulus for strengthening the coordination function of the national statistical institute in dispersed statistical systems. The principles relating to professional independence, mandate for data collection, adequacy of resources and to some extent impartiality and objectivity cannot be addressed in a comprehensive way by a statistical authority alone. Thus, governance authorities, i.e. governments, Ministries, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union are called to implement the Code by ensuring that their statistical services are professionally organised and resourced. 22 Mapping of intersections between the European Statistics Code of Practice, the LEG on Quality recommendations and the EFQM Excellence Model Criteria: _LEG%20RECOM_EFQM%20FOR%20WEB_1.PDF#page=7

8 In terms of statistics covered, the Code addresses the production of European official statistics within the ESS. In line with corresponding European legislation, the statistics covered by the Code are statistics produced and disseminated by national statistical authorities and the Community statistical authority in conformity with Article 285(2) of the EC Treaty. In principle, the Code does not cover the production and dissemination of national statistics nor statistics for European purposes outside the European Community statistical programme. However, in practice a close link between statistics and an overlap with regard to the institutions producing and disseminating them will render a clear delineation difficult and in many cases a potential for confusion from a users point of view. Correspondences have been drawn between the Code of Practice and the UN Fundamental Principles 23 and the IMF's Data Quality Assessment Framework Monitoring and implementation Shortly after adoption of the Code of Practice, the SPC agreed a stepwise monitoring procedure for the code over three years, starting with self assessments, followed by peer reviews, benchmarking and monitoring on the basis of the indicators associated with each principle. As a first step, all NSIs in the ESS, as well as Eurostat, took part in self-assessment exercise in which they would measure their own compliance with the Code of Practice. This was based on a very detailed questionnaire (61 pages) that had been designed by the SPC task force on implementing the Code. The findings of this exercise were published in May The results showed that ESS scored highly on institutional environment, especially professional independence, mandate for data collection, statistical confidentiality, impartiality and objectivity. Quality and adequacy of resources were less well respected principles. The picture for statistical processes and output was mixed, with the self assessment recording a high commitment to timeliness and punctuality and sound methodology, but with more attention to appropriate statistical procedures and Accuracy and reliability being needed. The next phase of monitoring compliance to the code was a series of "Peer reviews", during late 2006 and 2007 of all EU 27 NSIs, plus the 4 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and, finally, Eurostat itself. The "Peers" were teams, for each organisation being reviewed, of three statisticians, two from other NSIs and one from Eurostat. The work was shared so that most volunteers undertook 23 Correspondence between the Code of Practice and the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities: 0COP%20UN%20PRINCIPLES.PDF 24 Correspondence between the Code of Practice and the IMF Data Quality Assessment Framework: RISON%20IMF%20DQAF%20AND%20COP%20-%20MARS%202006MOD.PDF 25 Report on the results of the first self-assessments carried out by the statistical authorities of the European Statistical System against the principles and indicators of the European Statistics Code of Practice: %20TO%20EFC%20ESS%20SA%20REV%20LU%20FINAL.PDF

9 one or two reviews over the period. The scope of these reviews was restricted to compliance with principles 1 to 6 and 15 of the Code. Because of the varying degrees of centralisation of national statistical systems, the peer teams were also asked to assess the Co-ordination role of the National Statistical Institute within the national system. Each team was provided in advance with a large quantity of documentation by the organisation being reviewed and paid a visit of three intensive days during which a series of meetings was held with the management of the office, younger officials, users and the press. The team then prepared a report in which each of the indicators associated with these seven principles (with the exception of some indicators associated with principle 3 which were thought to be better assessed at European level) was marked with a level of compliance: Fully met / Largely met / Partly met / Not met. They gave comments on each indicator and an overall assessment for each principle given. Good practices were highlighted and recommendations and improvement actions agreed. Finally, the reports were scrutinised for consistency by the Eurostat peer review office. All 32 reports are posted on Eurostat's web site 26. The outcome shows good compliance with the Code in relation to professional independence. Most NSIs have legal frameworks and/or recognized practices which assure in one way or other, that statistical offices are independent in selecting statistical methods, dissemination practices and fixing the timing of statistical releases. The peer reviews have also shown that strong protections: legal, technical and organisational, are in place to prevent releasing confidential data outside statistical offices. In relation to impartiality and objectivity ESS members are less homogeneous and different practices on pre-releases access exist, ranging from no pre-release access at all in some northern countries to pre-release access for information to limited bodies but in general being transparent on who receives what and when. Quality was only evaluated in the peer reviews on its institutional and managerial aspects. Outcomes have shown that quality commitment is the principle with more room for improvement. It is rated comparatively low at ESS level in particular with regard to monitoring process and product quality according to the ESS quality components. A final report on this exercise will be submitted to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers during Further steps envisaged in the context of the ESS implementation of the Code of Practice include projects at various levels to enhance process and product quality, including progress in the collection of ESS good practices and a co-operation project with other international organisations led by Eurostat on the use and convergence of international quality assurance frameworks. In addition, compliance monitoring established by Eurostat in the area of statistics will allow quality issues at the level of statistical domains to be addressed. Some areas of the Code will be specified in more detailed protocols as a first step to allow users to distinguish more clearly those statistics which have been produced in compliance with the Code. 26 Code of Practice Peer review reports:

10 5 Conclusions The events leading up to the drafting of the Code of Practice and the subsequent process of monitoring compliance show the clear links between quality, integrity and public confidence. European experience shows that a number of criteria are necessary to ensure the building up and maintenance of public confidence in integrity and quality: First, the adoption of an adequate legal framework for statistics is essential for credibility. To have legal provisions explicitly mentioning the statistical principles grouped under integrity is likely to be the best protection for statistical offices against organisational or institutional changes that may affect their situation. We have seen that in the ESS, various principles are already laid down in the European Treaty and its secondary legislation. The new "statistical law", will go more in detail and specifically define professional independence, impartiality objectivity and statistical confidentiality Second, there should be a focus on quality improvement initiatives which should be well integrated across the statistical office. The adoption of quality assurance frameworks by members of the ESS can be considered a safe way to, for example, integrate all existing quality tools, generate common solutions for enhancing quality, spread a common quality culture within the organisation and, finally, support management on strategic decisions for overall quality improvement Third, we are increasing being convinced of the need for external advisory bodies. An external advisory body composed of high level representatives with national and international professional experience in the field of statistics can play an active role and can convey an independent view on how the Code is implemented. It can contribute to enhancing independence, integrity and accountability. Partnership has been vital in the implementation and monitoring of the Code. A Code of Practice can be useful in underpinning statistical legislation by putting the principles into more concrete terms and in communicating integrity provisions to the user community and the respondents. For countries with decentralised statistical systems, partnership between the NSI and the other producers of statistics attracts even more importance. Similarly, partnership with data suppliers and the press is necessary. This leads us onto the final criterion: It is important to invest in communication. Integrity and quality are preconditions for credibility but a communication strategy towards the public needs also to be in place to create citizens trust and confidence on official statistics. Each type of users may need different communication strategies. Whilst for informed users is important to communicate methods used and quality standard, for the general public it could be more appropriate to transmit a clean and clear message informing them that statistics are compiled in compliance with the Code of Practice. This is the purpose of so called 'quality labelling', a project on which Eurostat is working to develop a methodology and procedures for assessing and communicating compliance with the Code of Practice.

11 Preamble Annex: EUROPEAN STATISTICS CODE OF PRACTICE adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee on 24 February 2005 Definitions: For the purpose of this document: European Statistics shall mean Community Statistics as defined in Council regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics, produced and disseminated by national statistical authorities and the Community s statistical authority (Eurostat) in conformity with Article 285(2) of the Treaty. The Statistical Authority shall mean, at national level, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) and other statistical bodies in charge of producing and disseminating European Statistics and, at Community level, Eurostat. The European Statistical System, hereinafter referred to as the ESS, shall mean the partnership comprising Eurostat, National Statistical Institutes and other national statistical bodies responsible in each Member State for producing and disseminating European Statistics. In coherence with the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285(2) thereof, with the Council regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics, and with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission on 14 April 1994, the present Code of Practice has the dual purpose of: Improving trust and confidence in the independence, integrity and accountability of both National Statistical Authorities and Eurostat, and in the credibility and quality of the statistics they produce and disseminate (i.e. an external focus); Promoting the application of best international statistical principles, methods and practices by all producers of European Statistics to enhance their quality (i.e. an internal focus). The Code is addressed for implementation to: Governance authorities (i.e. Governments, Ministries, Commission, Council) to provide guidelines for them to ensure that their statistical services are professionally organised and resourced to produce credible European Statistics in a manner that guarantees independence, integrity and accountability; Statistical authorities and their staff - to provide a benchmark of statistical principles, values and best practices that should help them in producing and disseminating high quality, harmonised European Statistics. It is addressed for information to:

12 Users - to show that European and national statistical authorities are impartial and that the statistics they produce and disseminate are trustworthy, objective and reliable; Data providers - to show that the confidentiality of the information they provide is protected, and that excessive demands will not be placed on them. The Code of Practice is based on 15 Principles. Governance authorities and statistical authorities in the European Union commit themselves to adhering to the principles fixed in this code and to reviewing its implementation periodically by the use of of Good Practice for each of the 15 Principles, which are to be used as references. The Statistical Programme Committee established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC of 19 June 1989 will regularly carry out peer review monitoring of the implementation of the present Code. Institutional Environment Institutional and organisational factors have a significant influence on the effectiveness and credibility of a statistical authority producing and disseminating European Statistics. The relevant issues are professional independence, mandate for data collection, adequacy of resources, quality commitment, statistical confidentiality, impartiality and objectivity. Principle 1: Professional Independence - The professional independence of statistical authorities from other policy, regulatory or administrative departments and bodies, as well as from private sector operators, ensures the credibility of European Statistics. The independence of the statistical authority from political and other external interference in producing and disseminating official statistics is specified in law. The head of the statistical authority has sufficiently high hierarchical standing to ensure senior level access to policy authorities and administrative public bodies. He/She should be of the highest professional calibre. The head of the statistical authority and, where appropriate, the heads of its statistical bodies have responsibility for ensuring that European Statistics are produced and disseminated in an independent manner. The head of the statistical authority and, where appropriate, the heads of its statistical bodies have the sole responsibility for deciding on statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases. The statistical work programmes are published and periodic reports describe progress made. Statistical releases are clearly distinguished and issued separately from political/policy statements. The statistical authority, when appropriate, comments publicly on statistical issues, including criticisms and misuses of official statistics. Principle 2: Mandate for Data Collection - Statistical authorities must have a clear legal mandate to collect information for European statistical purposes. Administrations, enterprises and households, and the public at large may be compelled by law to allow access to or deliver data for European statistical purposes at the request of statistical authorities.

13 The mandate to collect information for the production and dissemination of official statistics is specified in law. The statistical authority is allowed by national legislation to use administrative records for statistical purposes. On the basis of a legal act, the statistical authority may compel response to statistical surveys. Principle 3: Adequacy of Resources - The resources available to statistical authorities must be sufficient to meet European Statistics requirements. Staff, financial, and computing resources, adequate both in magnitude and in quality, are available to meet current European Statistics needs. The scope, detail and cost of European Statistics are commensurate with needs. Procedures exist to assess and justify demands for new European Statistics against their cost. Procedures exist to assess the continuing need for all European Statistics, to see if any can be discontinued or curtailed to free up resources. Principle 4: Quality Commitment - All ESS members commit themselves to work and cooperate according to the principles fixed in the Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System. Product quality is regularly monitored according to the ESS quality components. Processes are in place to monitor the quality of the collection, processing and dissemination of statistics. Processes are in place to deal with quality considerations, including tradeoffs within quality, and to guide planning for existing and emerging surveys. Quality guidelines are documented and staff are well trained. These guidelines are spelled out in writing and made known to the public. There is a regular and thorough review of the key statistical outputs using external experts where appropriate. Principle 5: Statistical Confidentiality - The privacy of data providers (households, enterprises, administrations and other respondents), the confidentiality of the information they provide and its use only for statistical purposes must be absolutely guaranteed. Statistical confidentiality is guaranteed in law. Statistical authority staff sign legal confidentiality commitments on appointment. Substantial penalties are prescribed for any wilful breaches of statistical confidentiality. Instructions and guidelines are provided on the protection of statistical confidentiality in the production and dissemination processes. These guidelines are spelled out in writing and made known to the public. Physical and technological provisions are in place to protect the security and integrity of statistical databases. Strict protocols apply to external users accessing statistical microdata for research purposes.

14 Principle 6: Impartiality and Objectivity - Statistical authorities must produce and disseminate European Statistics respecting scientific independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. Statistics are compiled on an objective basis determined by statistical considerations. Choices of sources and statistical techniques are informed by statistical considerations. Errors discovered in published statistics are corrected at the earliest possible date and publicised. Information on the methods and procedures used by the statistical authority are publicly available. Statistical release dates and times are pre-announced. All users have equal access to statistical releases at the same time and any privileged prerelease access to any outside user is limited, controlled and publicised. In the event that leaks occur, pre-release arrangements should be revised so as to ensure impartiality. Statistical releases and statements made in Press Conferences are objective and nonpartisan. Statistical Processes European and other international standards, guidelines and good practices must be fully observed in the processes used by the statistical authorities to organise, collect, process and disseminate official statistics. The credibility of the statistics is enhanced by a reputation for good management and efficiency. The relevant aspects are sound methodology, appropriate statistical procedures, non-excessive burden on respondents and cost effectiveness. Principle 7: Sound Methodology - Sound methodology must underpin quality statistics. This requires adequate tools, procedures and expertise. The overall methodological framework of the statistical authority follows European and other international standards, guidelines, and good practices. Procedures are in place to ensure that standard concepts, definitions and classifications are consistently applied throughout the statistical authority. The business register and the frame for population surveys are regularly evaluated and adjusted if necessary in order to ensure high quality. Detailed concordance exists between national classifications and sectorisation systems and the corresponding European systems. Graduates in the relevant academic disciplines are recruited. Staff attend international relevant training courses and conferences, and liaise with statistician colleagues at international level in order to learn from the best and to improve their expertise. Co-operation with the scientific community to improve methodology is organised and external reviews assess the quality and effectiveness of the methods implemented and promote better tools, when feasible. Principle 8: Appropriate Statistical Procedures Appropriate statistical procedures, implemented from data collection to data validation, must underpin quality statistics.

15 Where European Statistics are based on administrative data, the definitions and concepts used for the administrative purpose must be a good approximation to those required for statistical purposes. In case of statistical surveys, questionnaires are systematically tested prior to the data collection. Survey designs, sample selections, and sample weights are well based and regularly reviewed, revised or updated as required. Field operations, data entry, and coding are routinely monitored and revised as required. Appropriate editing and imputation computer systems are used and regularly reviewed, revised or updated as required. Revisions follow standard, well-established and transparent procedures. Principle 9: Non-Excessive Burden on Respondents - The reporting burden should be proportionate to the needs of the users and should not be excessive for respondents. The statistical authority monitors the response burden and sets targets for its reduction over time. The range and detail of European Statistics demands is limited to what is absolutely necessary. The reporting burden is spread as widely as possible over survey populations through appropriate sampling techniques. The information sought from businesses is, as far as possible, readily available from their accounts and electronic means are used where possible to facilitate its return. Best estimates and approximations are accepted when exact details are not readily available. Administrative sources are used whenever possible to avoid duplicating requests for information. Data sharing within statistical authorities is generalised in order to avoid multiplication of surveys. Principle 10: Cost Effectiveness - Resources must be effectively used. Internal and independent external measures monitor the statistical authority s use of resources. Routine clerical operations (e.g. data capture, coding, validation) are automated to the extent possible. The productivity potential of information and communications technology is being optimised for data collection, processing and dissemination. Proactive efforts are being made to improve the statistical potential of administrative records and avoid costly direct surveys. Statistical Output Available statistics must meet users needs. Statistics comply with the European quality standards and serve the needs of European institutions, governments, research institutions, business concerns and the public generally. The important issues concern the extent to which the statistics are relevant, accurate and reliable, timely, coherent, comparable across regions and countries, and readily accessible by users. Principle 11: Relevance - European Statistics must meet the needs of users.

16 Processes are in place to consult users, monitor the relevance and practical utility of existing statistics in meeting their needs, and advise on their emerging needs and priorities. Priority needs are being met and reflected in the work programme. User satisfaction surveys are undertaken periodically. Principle 12: Accuracy and Reliability - European Statistics must accurately and reliably portray reality. Source data, intermediate results and statistical outputs are assessed and validated. Sampling errors and non-sampling errors are measured and systematically documented according to the framework of the ESS quality components. Studies and analyses of revisions are carried out routinely and used internally to inform statistical processes. Principle 13: Timeliness and Punctuality - European Statistics must be disseminated in a timely and punctual manner. Timeliness meets the highest European and international dissemination standards. A standard daily time is set for the release of European Statistics. Periodicity of European Statistics takes into account user requirements as much as possible. Any divergence from the dissemination time schedule is publicised in advance, explained and a new release date set. Preliminary results of acceptable aggregate quality can be disseminated when considered useful. Principle 14: Coherence and Comparability - European Statistics should be consistent internally, over time and comparable between regions and countries; it should be possible to combine and make joint use of related data from different sources. Statistics are internally coherent and consistent (e.g. arithmetic and accounting identities observed). Statistics are coherent or reconcilable over a reasonable period of time. Statistics are compiled on the basis of common standards with respect to scope, definitions, units and classifications in the different surveys and sources. Statistics from the different surveys and sources are compared and reconciled. Cross-national comparability of the data is ensured through periodical exchanges between the European Statistical System and other statistical systems; methodological studies are carried out in close co-operation between the Member States and Eurostat. Principle 15: Accessibility and Clarity European Statistics should be presented in a clear and understandable form, disseminated in a suitable and convenient manner, available and accessible on an impartial basis with supporting metadata and guidance. Statistics are presented in a form that facilitates proper interpretation and meaningful comparisons.

17 Dissemination services use modern information and communication technology and, if appropriate, traditional hard copy. Custom-designed analyses are provided when feasible and are made public. Access to microdata can be allowed for research purposes. This access is subject to strict protocols. Metadata are documented according to standardised metadata systems. Users are kept informed on the methodology of statistical processes and the quality of statistical outputs with respect to the ESS quality criteria.