Guidance

Home Office statistical work programme 2023 to 2024

Published 8 December 2023

Foreword

The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism and police. The work of the Home Office covers some of the most high-profile areas of government policy and there is significant public interest in our statistics.

Our statistics continue to help inform public discourse on a wide range of areas including borders and the immigration system, the work of the police and fire and rescue services, crime, alcohol and drugs, as well as broader issues of public concern such as counter-terrorism and licensing of shotguns and firearms.

As our Permanent Secretary, Sir Matthew Rycroft, recently set out in a letter to the Office for Statistics Regulation, there is an important onus on Home Office statisticians to ensure our statistics remain relevant and address key areas of public concern.

There is huge demand on the statistics teams across the Home Office and this continues to grow, illustrating the strong appetite for evidence to support the work of the department and inform parliamentary and public debate.

Statisticians in the Home Office are committed to delivering high quality statistics for the public good in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. We are striving for continual improvement of our outputs and processes and are committed to responding to user needs to make our statistics accessible, open, and transparent. With finite resources available it is also important that we can utilise the most modern and efficient techniques to maximise our impact.

This workplan outlines our organisational structure, regular statistical outputs and key priorities, as well as provides links to more detailed information on individual work areas.

All users of our outputs are invited to comment on the extent to which this workplan meets their needs and to engage with us to provide statistics of the highest quality and value.

Jon Simmons

Home Office Head of Profession for Statistics

ChiefStatistician@homeoffice.gov.uk

Statistics in the Home Office

Home Office Statisticians are responsible for providing statistical evidence and analysis to government, parliament, academics and the wider public. We aim to provide robust evidence and advice to inform government policy development and operational decision-making. We also help to inform public debate by making a wide range of data available for public use and to aid the accountability of the Home Office to parliament and the public.

We produce Official and National Statistics on a range of topics including:

• crime
• migration
• policing
• fire and rescue
• counter-terrorism
• alcohol and drugs
• licensing
• animals in science

We also provide support to key partners in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ), including input to some joint outputs, as well as providing statistical advice, guidance and support to Home Office’s Arm’s Length Bodies (for example, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)).

The Home Office produces over 30 Official and National Statistics releases each year, as well as collaborating to support several cross-government publications. A full list of our statistical publications can be found in Annex A.

Who we are

Since April 2017, our core statistical resource has sat in the Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate (HOAI). This Directorate, led by Simon Palmer, brings together economists, statisticians, operational and social researchers, intelligence analysts and others to provide analysis and insight throughout the development and implementation of policy, as well as supporting operational decision making.

The statistical teams sit within larger organisational units, again, grouped by broad policy areas. Information about these policy areas and the work of the statistical teams in each of these units is given below.

1) Migration and Borders

Statistics on migration and borders are covered by the following units:

• Managed Migration Analysis
• Immigration System Statistics and Refugees Analysis and Insight
• Protection and Enforcement Analysis and Insight
• Borders Analysis
• Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit

These teams publish a range of statistics on different aspects of the immigration system. They ensure that the migration statistics are kept under review, and that they are continually improved to enhance both the statistics themselves and users’ understanding of the data.

They work in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), devolved administrations and other government departments to develop understanding of the migration statistics and improve the migration evidence base, including as part of the cross-government work to put administrative data at the core of migration statistics.

Useful links

Links to all published Home Office migration data and analysis are available at: Migration analysis at the Home Office.

The Office for National Statistics also publish migration statistics, including net migration estimates, at: Population and migration.

Further information on developments in migration statistics over the years can be found at: Developments in migration statistics.

2) Public Safety

Statistics covering public safety (which includes crime, policing, fire, and drugs and alcohol) are covered by the following units:

• Crime Analysis Unit
• Police and Fire Analysis Unit
• Drugs, Exploitation and Abuse Analysis Unit

These teams analyse and publish a wide range of statistics, including those on police recorded crime and the outcomes of related police investigations, hate crime, crime against businesses, the police workforce, police powers and procedures, incidents attended by fire and rescue services, drug seizures, and licensing statistics.

Crime Analysis Unit also oversee the annual publication of the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime which underpin the police recorded crime statistics and work closely with Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the production of quarterly crime statistics, and more focused compendium publications.

These teams also engage in more formal mechanisms for managing data collection burdens placed on suppliers. Data collections from police forces are governed by the Annual Data Requirement, which covers the range of new data collections requested from police forces by government and the wider policing family. Every year, data collections are reviewed to ensure their continued relevance. Teams work closely with policy officials, police force analysts and police IT specialists to ensure that the data collections included are proportionate, necessary, of high quality and technically feasible.

Data collections from Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and other local authorities are governed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Single Data List (SDL) process, which includes working with local authority representatives to review and consider the data burdens involved in data collections.

Furthermore, statisticians in the Police and Fire Analysis Unit also lead on the allocation of around £9 billion to the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

Useful links

Statistics on hate crime, racist incidents, crime outcomes, crime against businesses and drugs misuse can be found at: Crime statistics.

The Office for National Statistics also publish crime statistics, including data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), at: Crime and justice - Office for National Statistics.

Statistics on police workforce, police powers, funding and licensing can be found at: Policing statistics - GOV.UK.

Statistics relating to Fire and Rescue Services are available at: Fire statistics - GOV.UK.

3) Homeland Security

Homeland Security Analysis and Insight (HSAI) are the analytical leads for the Homeland Security policy area. This team produces quarterly statistics on the operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000 and subsequent legislation, which provides data on terrorism-related arrests, outcomes, and the use of stop and search powers under TACT 2000 in Great Britain.

The team are also responsible for producing the annual statistics on individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, and provides regular insight and analysis to the policy teams in Home Office Homeland Security Group.

The team works closely with partners within government and draws expertise from outside government, to provide advice, strengthen the evidence base and fill knowledge gaps. Their analysis informs strategic and operational decisions in the counter-terrorism and counter-extremism spaces, providing a good understanding of the problem and effective interventions, sharing insight across government.

Useful links

Counter-terrorism statistics can be found at: Counter terrorism statistics - GOV.UK.

4) Central and cross-cutting

The Central Analytical Services team provide central statistical advice and steer for the statistical community across Home Office. They help transform the way statistics and underlying data are produced across HOAI, and build relationships with colleagues across all work areas, helping them to modernise their processes, while maintaining high quality outputs.

A key aim for this team is to develop innovative products and systems, to drastically reduce the time spent on producing routine outputs, resulting in a better skilled workforce and more robust outputs. This allows statisticians to reallocate their time, while applying their new skills, to focus on new and exciting projects, allowing the Home Office to provide more value and insight to users of its data.

5) Other statistical work and teams

Alongside our statistical data collections and releases, Home Office statisticians play an important role in ensuring the Home Office meets its public and parliamentary obligations. Across all the teams, we provide comprehensive briefing for ministers and policy teams and draft responses to numerous Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests and ad hoc queries.

As well as the teams described above, there are also a number of professional statistical staff who work within other areas of the Home Office, or in the Arm’s Length Bodies. A selection of these teams is summarised below.

Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit (PRAU)

PRAU produce management information and analysis to support the department in managing performance and risk effectively. The unit’s work is wide ranging from providing strategic analysis to the Department’s senior boards to implementing Vantage - the new Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System’s (BICS) management information system.

Each quarter, PRAU publish the Migration Transparency publication, comprising of statistics which illustrate the performance of the BICS. The publication currently consists of more than 80 data tables (down from over 100) with new tables being considered for inclusion (and existing ones for removal) each quarter through a well-established governance process. In quarter 1 (January to March) 2020, data was included for the first time on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, which has received much media and parliamentary attention.

Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)

The MAC is an advisory non-departmental public body consisting of labour market and migration experts supported by a secretariat of economists, statisticians, social researchers, operational researchers and policy officials.

The team respond to commissions from the Home Secretary, and in addition carry out analysis using linked data sets from across government to evaluate the immigration system.

HM Inspectorate of the Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS)

HMICFRS assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire and rescue services. The ‘Better Inspections Portfolio’ (BIP) within HMICFRS is a multi-disciplinary analytical team responsible for using data, analysis, knowledge and digital skills to inform and improve inspections through insight and evaluation.

HMICFRS uses data it collects directly from forces and services, as well as information provided to the Home Office and other government departments, to produce analysis via PowerBI dashboards. These dashboards present the data in an accessible format to inspection staff, forces and services; allowing them to drill-down into data of interest.

Additional links and information

Upcoming Home Office statistics are pre-announced on the GOV.UK website at: Research and statistics - GOV.UK

The links provided under the individual policy areas above contain the most recent Home Office statistics. However, Home Office statistics from before May 2010 can be found on the National Archive Research Development and Statistics website.

Other useful documents include:

• Home Office statement of compliance with the code of practice for statistics
• Home Office statistical release practice
• Home Office revisions and corrections policy
• Home Office use of administrative sources for statistical purposes
• Home Office Data Protection and Privacy Notices

Annex A: List of regular Home Office statistical releases

HO Theme	Release title	Frequency	Designation	Summary
Migration and Borders	EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics	Quarterly	Official Statistics	This report provides detailed statistics on applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme, and applications concluded during the same time period.
Migration and Borders	Immigration System Statistics	Quarterly	National Statistics	Statistics relating to those coming to the UK; extending their stay (temporarily or permanently); gaining citizenship; applying for asylum; and being detained or removed, as well as immigration for work, study and family reasons.
Migration and Borders	Irregular migration to the UK	Quarterly	Official Statistics	Statistics on irregular migration to the UK, including small boats.
Migration and Borders	Migrant Journey	Annually	Official Statistics	Evidence on the behaviour of migrants entering the UK immigration system for the main routes of entry to the UK and the common pathways through the immigration system that result in settlement.
Migration and Borders	Statistics being collected under the exit checks programme	Annually	Official Statistics	Data collected on travellers departing and arriving in the UK as part of the Home Office exit checks programme; statistics relating to the compliance of those passengers required to obtain a visa.
Public safety	Alcohol and late night refreshment licensing, England and Wales	Biennially	National Statistics	Statistics on authorisations and licensing authority powers under the Licensing Act 2003. Includes premises licences, club premises certificates, personal licences, late night refreshment and 24-hour alcohol licences.
Public safety	Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain	Annually	National Statistics	Statistics relating to scientific procedures performed on living animals in accordance with Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Includes the number of procedures, types of animals used, and purpose and severity of procedures.
Public safety	Asset recovery, England, Wales and Northern Ireland	Annually	Official Statistics	Presents data on asset recovery, using Proceeds of Crime Act Powers and data on the use of Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.
Public safety	Crime against Businesses statistics, England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Statistics from the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which looks at crime against businesses in England and Wales.
Public safety	Crime in England and Wales (published by ONS)	Quarterly	Official Statistics	Crime against households and adults using data from police recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Public safety	Crime outcomes in England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Details on crime outcomes assigned by the police, the timeliness of assigning outcomes and transferred/cancelled records.
Public safety	Crime outcomes in England and Wales: Data tables	Quarterly	Official Statistics	Details on crime outcomes assigned by the police and transferred/cancelled records.
Public safety	Drug Seizures in England and Wales	Annually	National Statistics	Covers number of seizures covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act, by police forces and Border Force in England and Wales.
Public safety	Detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services, England	Annually	National Statistics	Detailed statistics on fires attended by fire and rescue services across England, additional analysis of fire-related fatalities and non-fatal casualties and analysis on cause of fire and smoke alarm function
Public safety	Detailed analysis of non-fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services, England	Annually	National Statistics	Detailed statistics on overall trends, fatalities and non-fatal casualties in non-fire incidents, and further detailed analysis of different categories of non-fire incidents.
Public safety	Fire and rescue incident statistics	Quarterly	National Statistics	Statistics on trends in fires, casualties, false alarms and non-fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England.
Public safety	Fire and rescue workforce and pensions statistics	Annually	Official Statistics	Focuses on total workforce numbers, workforce diversity and information regarding leavers and joiners; covers both pension fund income and expenditure and firefighters’ pension schemes membership; and includes information on incidents involving attacks on firefighters.
Public safety	Fire incidents response times	Annually	Official Statistics	Statistics on trends in average response times to fires attended by fire and rescue services in England.
Public safety	Fire prevention and protection statistics	Annually	Official Statistics	Trends in smoke alarm ownership, fire prevention and protection activities (including home fire safety checks and fire safety audits) by fire and rescue services, in England.
Public safety	Firearm and shotgun certificates in England and Wales	Annually	National Statistics	Statistics on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates issued by police forces in England and Wales (under the Firearms Acts 1968 to 1997).
Public safety	Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Football-related arrests statistics by club, offence type, location and arrest rate per competition and banning orders statistics by club.
Public safety	Forced Marriage statistics (Published with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)	Annually	Official Statistics	Statistics on the cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit through its public helpline and email inbox.
Public safety	Hate Crime in England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Number of hate crimes in England and Wales recorded by the police. Also includes Crime Survey England and Wales analysis every third year.
Public safety	Homicide in England and Wales (published by ONS)	Annually	National Statistics	Detailed information on the nature and circumstances of homicide from the Home Office Homicide Index
Public safety	Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify Statistics UK	Quarterly	Official Statistics	Statistics Data on potential victims of modern slavery in the UK that come to the attention of authorised organisations.
Public safety	Police funding, England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Provides a single source of statistical information on police funding levels.
Public safety	Police misconduct, England and Wales	Annually	Experimental Statistics	Statistics on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters finalised.
Public safety	Police Officer uplift statistics	Quarterly (ended July 2023)	National Statistics	Update on the progress with the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales.
Public safety	Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales	Annually	National Statistics	Statistics on Police custody, Voluntary attendance, Pre-charge bail, Fixed Penalty Notices for motoring offences; detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983; breath test; and other PACE powers (intimate searches, warrants of further detention).
Public safety	Police powers and procedures: Stop and search and arrests, England and Wales	Annually	National Statistics	Arrests and stop and search statistics
Public safety	Police use of firearms, England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Statistics on the number of: firearms operations, incidents in which a firearm was discharged, and armed officers.
Public safety	Police use of force, England and Wales	Annually	Experimental Statistics	Statistics covering incidents where police officers have used force. Includes: the tactics used, the reason for force, the outcome, any injuries (to the officers and or the subject) and subject information (age, gender, ethnicity and disability, as perceived by the reporting officer). Also includes statistics on police use of TASER®, which were previously published separately.
Public safety	Police workforce (as at Sept/March), England and Wales	Biannually	National Statistics	Covers the size of the workforce as well as information on: joiners, leavers, diversity, age, sickness, misconduct, for example.
Public safety	Statistics on so called ‘honour-based’ abuse offences, England and Wales	Annually	Official Statistics	Police recorded crime data on so called honour based-abuse offences recorded by the police, including female genital mutilation and forced marriage offences.
Homeland Security	Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme	Annually	Experimental Statistics	This release contains statistics on the number of individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme in England and Wales.
Homeland Security	Operations of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation, Great Britain	Quarterly	National Statistics	This release reports statistics on the use of police powers under terrorism related and subsequent legislation. Key sections cover arrests and outcomes, court proceedings, terrorist prisoners, and other police powers.