Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for statistics
Updated 1 April 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-official-statistics-compliance-documents/statement-of-compliance-with-the-code-of-practice-for-statistics
Summary
In summary:
- as a producer of official statistics, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has an obligation to meet the standards of the Code of Practice for Statistics
- the core principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics are trustworthiness, quality, and value, and these are treated with the utmost importance in the preparation and release of our official statistics
- we publish a number of more detailed compliance documents exploring our approach to specific standards
Purpose and scope
This document sets out UKHSA’s approach to the three core principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.
The purpose of this document is to explain how we meet our obligations as producers of official statistics to meet the standards of the Code of Practice for Statistics. It will also provide links to our more detailed and subject-specific compliance documents where relevant rather than duplicating information.
Trustworthiness
For all the official statistics we publish, our priority is the public good, and we aim to consistently make decisions which maximise benefit to the public. For UKHSA official statistics to serve public good, they must support public health outcomes and our users must be able to trust that they are produced and released appropriately.
Our official statistics are produced with honesty and integrity by skilled professionals. We promote the Code of Practice for Statistics and its standards across the organisation, ensuring that learning and development opportunities relating to Code requirements are available to our statistics producers.
Our official statistics are presented objectively, with impartial explanations of key findings and trends provided to assist user understanding and interpretation.
Our Head of Profession for Statistics provides advice on interpreting and applying the Code of Practice for Statistics, ensuring that our statistics producers understand how official statistics should be produced, released, and used to meet standards.
Transparency in the release of our official statistics is of the utmost importance to ensure public confidence. For full details on how we ensure transparency in our release process, please see our Official statistics release practice policy.
The responsible and ethical management of our data is integral in the production of official statistics and, as producers of health statistics specifically, we take this responsibility very seriously. Please see our Data management in official statistics policy for full details on how we ensure the safe and secure handling of data in the production of our official statistics.
Quality
We consistently promote data quality as a priority within the organisation, and we are always looking to improve our quality management process, including how we:
- ensure quality at the outset
- assure quality once the statistics have been produced
- communicate the quality of the statistics to the users
We aim to provide users with high-quality official statistics so that they can be confident in using our data to underpin decision-making.
For more information on how we ensure that quality is a top priority in the production of official statistics, please see our Quality management policy.
Value
We ensure that users are central to decisions made around our official statistics to maximise value to the public.
We regularly engage with users of our official statistics products to gather their views and work towards making improvements which will increase usability and relevance.
We provide free and equal access to our official statistics through meeting accessibility standards to ensure that our statistics are usable by all. We also apply the equitable release standards set out in our Official statistics release practice policy, including our Operational access policy which enables decision makers to make best use of our statistics and maximise their benefit to public health.
For more information on how we approach user engagement and ensure that our statistics are user-focused, please see our Public involvement and engagement strategy.
OSR accountability statement
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).
OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards at UKHSA_HOPSTATS@ukhsa.gov.uk.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.