BUSINESS STATISTICS INTEGRATION IN THE U.K.

Peter J FullertonOffice for National Statistics

• Why we want to integrate• Background to UK business statistics• Business Surveys Integration Project• The new vision for business integration• Barriers• Progress to date• Next steps

Why do we want to integrate?

Benefits• improved quality and coherence • lower costs for businesses• lower processing costs for ONS

Enablers• new legislation • electronic data transfer• estimation methods

Background to UK business statistics

• 80 different business surveys• 1.7 million individual questionnaires issued

to……• 280,000 separate businesses (out of 2 million)• € 50 million

• Paper forms – all scanned• Telephone direct entry• Secure electronic file transfer• Some administrative sources used for

register

“Business Surveys Integration Project” - 2004

• Business Register and Employment Survey:to maintain the register and support regional and employment estimates

• Monthly Business Survey: to collect turnover data for all sectors and possibly data on employment

• Annual Business Survey: to meet GDP & GVA needs producing both regional and national data

100% strataCore GVA variables

(ABI/2 short form)

Filter questions

Sampled strataCore GVA variables

(ABI/2 short form)

Filter questions

Detailed components

(ABI/2 long form)+

purchases (PI)+

products/services(PRODCOM,SERVCOM)

+Capex

+Inventories

Detailed components

(ABI/2 long form)

Purchases (PI)

Products/services(PRODCOM,SERVCOM)

Capex

Inventories

E-commerce

R & D

ITIS

E-commerce

R & D

ITIS

ABSannual

COTAX & company acounts+

self-employed self assessment

Turnover(MIDSS, MPI, RSI)

+Inventories?

+Capex?+ Profits? (QPI)

+Employment?

(MIDSS, MPI, RSI, GAPS, QLA)

MBSmonthly &?quarterly

VAT turnover

LU employment +business structure

(BRS)+

annual employment

(ABI/1)

BRESannual

PAYE employment

New policy demands

+ad hoc

demands

BOSannual or quarterly

NES REP

Earnings + hoursannual (ASHE)

PRICES REP

Prices - monthlyor quarterly

RPI PPIEPI IPICSPIEarnings monthly

(MWSS)

PENSIONS REPFinancial sector

surveys+ FDI

KEYBusiness Surveys Integration Project

Re-Engineering Project

Integration sub-project

Admin data source

ABC Existing survey

Future vision of business data sources

?FSA data

Annual Business Survey

BR

ES

Mon

thly

Bus

ines

s S

urve

y

The new vision for business integration

• High quality business register• Access to administrative records• Combining statistical sources• Harmonising questions, standards and

classifications• Optimising methods and statistical processes• Re-engineering business processes and

governance• Supporting technology infrastructure• Offering businesses a greater choice

100% sample – bespoke inquiries

Estimation – smaller samples/admin data

100% admin data

Large, complex firms

Small, simple firms

Barriers

• Legislation

• Investment

• Continuity

• Methodology gaps

• Timeliness

• Validation

• Accuracy

Progress to date

Business Register & Employment Survey• duplication removed 2006• pilot survey underway 2007• phased implementation 2008 - 2009

Administrative data• report on Companies House Accounts data• interim Report on Corporation Tax – 91% match• investigation of Value Added Tax underway• enabling legislation in place for April 2008

Next steps

• Investigate differences between administrative sources and survey results

• Analyse ONS's requirements and how best to meet these from a range of data sources

• Build up methodological expertise in using administrative data

• Administrative data sharing agreements• Identify technology requirements • Understand the potential of electronic tax returns

and standard business reporting taxonomies • Investigate the potential of the MEETS programme

BUSINESS STATISTICS INTEGRATION IN THE U.K.

peter.j.fullerton@ons.gsi.gov.ukmyrto.miltiadou@ons.gsi.gov.uk