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Statistics on International Development 2008

Statement of Compliance with National Statistics Protocols

The Department for International Development (DFID) is responsible for collecting, compiling, reporting and disseminating statistics on the deployment of official and private UK financial resources to support developing countries.

Our annual publication "Statistics on International Development" is designated as a "National Statistic" (NS) and is produced in accordance with the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. The Department is committed to following the NS code of practice and its associated protocols for the NS it produces and will make its best efforts to comply with them. We will also make every effort to produce and publish our National Statistic in accordance with the following statements and policies:

  • Release Practices;
  • Revisions and Errors;
  • Publication Strategy;
  • Confidentiality and Security;
  • Data Management;
  • Customer Service and User Consultation.

Our statement on Release Practices was produced some time ago. Our policy on the remainder follows below.

Release Practices

The National Statistics Release Practice Protocol will apply in full to SID.

Accessibility: Number and types of releases

  • DFID produces one statistical release each year for SID which is not regarded as market sensitive.
  • SID is release on the Internet for download.

Pre-announcement

  • The release date for SID is pre-announced in ONS updates.
  • The month of publication is given twelve months ahead with the exact date at least two weeks ahead.

Timing of Releases

  • Publication of SID is announced by means of a Statistical Release from DFID which is issued at 0930 hrs on the day of release.

Format of releases

  • The Head of Profession maintains responsibility for the content and format of SID. Its release is accompanied by a Statistical Release which contains a short summary of key figures, intended primarily to assist the media in reporting on the results.
  • Any statement about policy by the Secretary of State is issued separately from the statistical release.
  • SID retains a core of standard tabulations, but content may vary to reflect needs of users and the changing nature of the aid programme. It may also include academic articles and comments on research findings.

Pre-release access to statistics

  • DFID has a record, available for public scrutiny, of all those who have pre-release access to SID. All such access is for quality assurance purposes and is in line with the protocol. Those involved will be advised of their responsibility in respect of confidentiality.

Availability of detailed results

  • SID covers a wide range of information and more detailed data are available on request.

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Revisions and Errors

Scheduled Revisions

We compile our aid statistics in accordance with the reporting guidelines internationally agreed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD. These guidelines are revised periodically and where this affects our statistics, notification of any changes and their effects will be given in the Foreword of our annual publication Statistics on International Development.

Errors

The bulk of our information is drawn from administrative data and occasionally errors occur in the statistical coding. Where these are minor, the database will be amended and the next edition of Statistics on International Development will automatically use the revised figures.

Substantial Revisions

Should a more systematic error occur which has a major effect on the published figures, then revised figures, together with an explanatory note, will be published on our website. This will done as soon as possible after the error has been identified and corrective action taken. Existing hard copies will not be recalled. The amendments will be reflected in the next edition and we will notify users of the revised figures available on the website.

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Publication Strategy

Our annual publication Statistics on International Development will be available, free of charge, PDF format on our website. As resources allow, we will work towards making the electronic version more flexible to enable users to query the information more effectively both in tabular and graphic format.

Further breakdowns of the data contained in the published version are available on request. These will also be free and will be provided electronically to the customer.

The content and layout of the data will be designed to suit user needs, including those of visually impaired readers.

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Confidentiality and Security

Confidentiality

We will ensure the confidentiality of data produced from our annual survey. The results will be published in Statistics on International Development at an aggregate level such that individual respondents are not identifiable. More detailed results will be circulated to the respondents themselves only where they agree to such disclosure.

Explanation

Our survey questionnaires will contain a statement explaining why the survey is required, how the data will be used, and guaranteeing that it is for statistical purposes only. It will also ask respondents if they agree to disclosure of the results between themselves.

Security

All staff working in DFID and all visitors are required to wear security passes at all times and no-one can enter our sites without one. Confidential data are held on password protected IT systems with the individual returns classified as "restricted" and kept in locked cabinets.

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Data Management

Data management will be the responsibility of the Head of DFID's Corporate Performance Group who will ensure that staff are appropriately trained to produce Statistics on International Development with knowledge of definitions, data sources, data collection issues, security procedures and project management. Relevant procedures will be adequately documented and NS databases kept up to date.

Customer Service and User Consultation

Service to Data Suppliers

We will place the minimum load necessary on data providers. We will take good care of information provided to us and we will respect the confidentiality of identifying information.

Customer Service

We will be polite and helpful. We will make every reasonable effort to provide customers with information that is timely, relevant and accurate. Our responses will be:

  • within 20 working days for queries made under the Freedom of Information Act;
  • within deadlines agreed with the customer where this is possible, otherwise
  • within 15 working days for other queries.

Any enquiries should be addressed to

Corporate Performance Group
Abercrombie House
Eaglesham Road
East Kilbride, G75 8EA
Scotland, United Kingdom
 

Tel: (0) 1355 84 3356
Fax: (0) 1355 84 3262
e-mail: statsmis@dfid.gov.uk

The publication date of Statistics on International Development will be pre-announced each year.