Data management in official statistics and Government Social Research

It relates to those data holdings managed by Welsh Government after that data are supplied to us, and has no bearing on the management of any data in the supplying organisations themselves.

All these data holdings will be managed in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and associated guidance, or in some instances with the Government Social Research Code, and this applies to holdings obtained from either administrative or statistical sources, and however published.  The statement also applies to any associated metadata or documentation.

Implementation

Responsibility for the oversight and co-ordination of this data management statement and for the stewardship of each of our data holdings will be under the overall direction of the Chief Statistician, or in some instances the Chief Social Researcher.

In practice the Chief Statistician (or Chief Social Researcher) will delegate these responsibilities to a series of data managers, whose role is to ensure that data holdings are managed in accordance with the best practice principles and standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics, or in some instances as set out in the Government Social Research Code.

In particular, each data holding will have a named data manager, whose duties involve:

• the collection, quality assurance, and maintenance of the data holding, including appropriate data retention, preservation, and destruction practices in line with the relevant code of practice and other archiving requirements
• the compilation and maintenance of metadata for the data holding as a whole, including an assessment of the quality assurance in line with guidance associated with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and documentation for related statistical resources
• providing access to the data holding in as much detail as is reliable and practicable, subject to legal and confidentiality constraints, in a format that is useful and flexible to the user
• managing burden on suppliers of data holdings by ensuring the detail required is proportionate and necessary and avoiding duplication of requests
• guarding the integrity and security of the data holding in accordance with internal policies and also the Data Protection Act, including: secure storage and transfer of information; fair processing associated with personal information; and regular assessment of the risks for identifying individuals within the data holding and related statistical outputs, and any mitigating actions necessary to reduce those risks