Statement of administrative sources

Background

Official statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive are based on two main sources - data gathered from statistical surveys, and data extracted from administrative or management systems.

By using data which is already available within administrative or management systems, rather than collecting data afresh, we are able to limit the overall burden placed on data providers, and also minimise data collection costs. In addition, the information we extract from such systems often has the advantage of being more timely than statistical data and, when compared with data from surveys (and particularly sample surveys), can also deliver data with a greater breadth of coverage.

The UK Statistics Authority actively encourages public bodies to exploit administrative and management sources for statistical purposes. However the Authority recognises that the statistical advantages of such arrangements can only be fully realised if statisticians have appropriate access to such systems; if statistical purposes are reflected in the design, management, and development of such systems; and if adequate safeguards are put in place to ensure the professional integrity of any official statistics derived from them.

The Authority's main requirements are set out in the third Protocol attached to their Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Amongst other things, this Protocol requires all producers of official statistics to publish, in consultation with the National Statistician, a 'Statement of Administrative Sources' which lists:

the administrative systems they currently use to produce official statistics;
information about other administrative sources that are not currently used for statistical purposes but which have the potential to be so used;.
the arrangements they have put in place to provide statistical staff with appropriate access to such sources; to take account of changes to such systems; to audit the quality of the administrative data used for statistical purposes; and to ensure the security of the resultant statistical processes.

The following tables describe the administrative/management sources which the Health and Safety Executive currently uses to produce official statistics, or which have the potential to be so used, differentiating between:

those sources which are owned and managed by ourselves;
those administered or managed by other organisations.

1. Statistical usage of our own organisation's administrative or management sources

Name/Title of Administrative Data Source	Name of overarching Administrative System	Main administrative purpose of this source/system	Geospatial Coverage	Title(s) of all Statistical Products derived from this Source
Reported injuries and Dangerous Occurrences	RIDDOR	To record reports from employers of injuries, certain diseases and dangerous occurrences as required by the RIDDOR regulations	GB; England; Scotland; Wales; Region; Local authority	Reported injuries Dangerous Occurrences
Blood Lead levels	CLAWD (Control of Lead At Work)	Collection and storage of annual blood lead data collected by Appointed Doctors from workers as required by the CLAW directive	Great Britain	Medical Surveillance of Blood Lead Levels in British Workers
ESQCR reports	Electrical Incidents Database (EID)	To collect statutory reports from Electricity suppliers in respect of the Electrical Safety and Quality Control Regulations (ESQCR)	Great Britain

2. Statistical usage of other organisations' administrative or management sources

Name/Title of Administrative Data Source	Name of overarching Administrative System	Name of Organisation responsible for this system/source	Main administrative purpose of this system/source	Geospatial Coverage	Title(s) of all Statistical Products derived from this Source
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)	IIDB	Department for Work and Pensions	To manage and pay IIDB	GB; England; Scotland; Wales; Region;	Number of IIDB claimants by prescribed industrial disease
Death certificates	Death certificates	Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland	To record deaths of British citizens	GB; England; Scotland; Wales; Region; Local authority	Annual deaths from Mesothelioma; Annual deaths from Asbestosis

3. Other administrative sources in HSE with the potential to be used for statistical purposes

Name/Title of Administrative Data Source	Name of overarching Administrative System	Main administrative purpose of this system/source	Geospatial Coverage
Hydrocarbon release data	HCR	To provide voluntary information on Hydrocarbon releases in the offshore industry which supplements the statutory data provided under the RIDDOR regulation	Offshore operators, GB
Notification of new construction projects (F10)	COIN	To alert HSE to new construction projects which are underway and are expected to last more than 30 days or involve more than 500 man hours	GB
Medical surveillance /biological monitoring data		To monitor compliance with specified Health and Safety legislation in certain industries or for particular at risk workers.	GB (HSE-enforced premises only)
Central Index of Dosimetric Information	CIDI	To monitor compliance with regulation 20 of the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999	GB (classified workers only)
Health and Safety Inspection activity	COIN	To record HSE inspector contact with duty holders	GB; England; Scotland; Wales; Region; Local authority (HSE-enforced industries only)

4. Detailed information about the Health and Safety Executive's governance arrangements for its own administrative or management sources

4.1 RIDDOR

Arrangements for providing statistical staff (whether inside or outside the organisation) with access to administrative or management sources for statistical purposes	The RIDDOR notification system used by employers enables reporting to be made online. HSE's Statistics branch take regular downloads of the operational data at the individual record level. This data is then securely transferred into SQL, SPSS and .csv copies of the datasets for statistical analysis.
Arrangements for auditing the quality of the original source data	Agreed data quality standards are in place and monitored by HSE. Further quality assurance is undertaken by HSE Statistics branch on a quarterly and annual basis, with any Data Quality compliance issues highlighted for review and action. If data errors occur and are detected, where feasible these are corrected in the 'statistical copy' of the data, with the original dataset remaining unchanged. Further detail is available.
Procedures for handling changes, and possible discontinuities, in the underlying source data	At first release, RIDDOR data are marked as provisional. The following year, data are finalised and no further revisions made (unless there is a methodological improvement or errors are found). Data for the previous ‘provisional’ year are marked as ‘revised.’ If a system or reporting/legal change occurs, we endeavour to estimate the effect of any discontinuity in our headline data series and produce a consistent back-series. If it is not possible or practical to adjust the series, a discontinuity line is presented in charts and tables and appropriate footnotes supplied.
Procedures for ensuring the security of the statistical processes which use administrative or management sources	All data is stored on password-protected, Government Secure networks.

4.2 Blood Lead (CLAWD)

Arrangements for providing statistical staff (whether inside or outside the organisation) with access to administrative or management sources for statistical purposes	Statisticians and supporting staff have access to the Appointed Doctors Database and the custom built Control of Lead at Work Database (CLAWD) where the doctor returns are stored.
Arrangements for auditing the quality of the original source data	In built validity checks in CLAWD are run automatically. A statistician supervises data entry. Queries are resolved internally or via clarification from the doctor.
Procedures for handling changes, and possible discontinuities, in the underlying source data	Changes in published statistics (if any) are noted in the following years release and further details are recorded in-house and stored with the blood lead forms. Data is analysed annually on returns received and validated
Procedures for ensuring the security of the statistical processes which use administrative or management sources	All data and outputs are stored on a password protected network