Official Statistics

VOA quality policy

Published 7 March 2019

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This statement describes the quality policy the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) use when producing Official Statistics and sets out its commitment to comply with the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) Code of Practice.

This statement relates to the Quality Pillar of the Code which states-

‘Quality means that statistics fit their intended uses, are based on appropriate data and methods, and are not materially misleading. Quality requires skilled professional judgement about collecting, preparing, analysing and publishing statistics and data in ways that meet the needs of people who want to use the statistics.’

The quality pillar comprises of three principles:

Q1: Suitable data sources- Statistics should be based on the most appropriate data to meet intended uses. The impact of any data limitations for use should be assessed, minimised and explained.

Q2: Sound methods- Producers of statistics and data should use the best available methods and recognised standards, and be open about their decisions.

Q3: Assured quality- Producers of statistics and data should explain clearly how they assure themselves that statistics and data are accurate, reliable, coherent and timely.

Following a review by the Best Practice and Impact Division (BPID) of the UKSA, we have reviewed and strengthened our quality processes to reinforce compliance with the Code, and reflect best practice. As a result of this review our approach to quality is:

  1. We understand how data are collected and prepared before being made available for processing. We are also aware of the quality assurance implemented during the data collection and data preparation stages.  
  2. We use a consistent streamlined production process to create our Official Statistics.
  3. We apply comprehensive quality checks throughout the data production stage of our Official Statistics. This includes checks of the code used to create outputs and checks of the outputs as well.
  4. We use a consistent QA checklist and an issue log across all our Official Statistics.
  5. We use a combination of automated checks and manual checks in the production of our Official Statistics. This is crucial to maintain a level of analytical curiosity that looks beyond automated checks to see what insights we can draw from the statistics.
  6. We publish comprehensive quality information with each Official Statistics release.

In the event of an error despite our QA procedures we will follow the VOA Revisions Policy document (Section 1.2- Revision due to errors in statistical systems and procedures).

Mark Wardell

Lead Statistician

Valuation Office Agency

January 2019

© Crown copyright 2019

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