“Everyone that works in organisations producing official statistics should handle and use statistics and data with honesty and integrity, guided by established principles of appropriate behaviour in public life”
Practice T1.1 of the Code of Practice
Organisations that produce official statistics should commit to the standards of the Code. The Code applies to everyone working in these organisations.
You can protect the reputation of your organisation by working in line with the Code of Practice. By following the Code, your organisation will demonstrate:
- its trustworthiness through commitments to clear, orderly publication of statistics
- the quality of its outputs
- the value of the insight it provides
The Code will therefore allow your organisation to publish and communicate its statistics in a way that inspires public confidence. The public value of statistics is at the heart of this Code.
You should
- Be ethical and honest in using any data
- Consult professional analysts to assure the appropriate use of evidence
- Use firm evidence that measures what is needed
- Present information accurately, clearly and impartially
But you should not
- Share unpublished data and statistics without authorised pre-release access
- Selectively quote favourable data
- Use other people’s data without checking their reliability first
Further help
If you are unclear about any aspect of using data and statistics:
- Contact your Head of Profession for Statistics
- If you cannot reach them or a deputy, you can contact the National Statistician’s Good Practice Team