WIREDGOV

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has won the prestigious Campion Award for "Excellence in Official Statistics" at this year's Royal Statistical Society's (RSS) Excellence Awards. 

The Explore Local Statistics service, which pulls together a multitude of local data for easy analysis on a range of indicators – including employment, household income, life expectancy and more – was said by the judges to have "the potential to empower and have a large impact in local areas."  

At an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday 10 July, it was hailed as "innovative work", which added "real value to informing local leaders".

Until now, local data published by public bodies were available across different websites or hidden in larger national datasets, covering a mix of geographical areas. It was challenging for analysts and policy officials to access the information they needed.

The Explore Local Statistics service brings together dozens of economic and social indicators for local authorities, counties and mayoral combined authorities all into one place, ensuring that analysts and decision makers, right across the UK, are efficiently gaining valuable insights on local areas.

Local authorities, for instance, can now compare themselves not only with neighbouring areas, but also with areas that have similar demographic or economic characteristics.

The Explore Local Statistics service also forms part of the wider ambitions of the ONS to ensure that users can find, understand, explore, and act on information more quickly and easily.

Emma Hickman, Deputy Director for Subnational Statistics and Analysis at the ONS said: 

"We are incredibly proud to receive this award! It is testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of the whole team, who have dedicated themselves to building a service that makes local data truly accessible for our users.

"We've already received overwhelmingly positive user feedback since we launched this service just a few months ago, with some local government bodies even embedding and referring to our pages on their own websites."

Two other ONS projects were also recognised at the RSS Excellence Awards, with the "Refugee Integration Outcomes" collaborative study with the Home Office, and the new "Methodology for estimating excess mortality in the UK", both highly commended.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, National Statistician, said:  

"Excellence in Official Statistics is something we strive for every day at the ONS. The passion that everyone in the organisation has for good quality data has been exemplified by all these projects, and I'd like to thank everyone involved for all their hard work.

"Huge congratulations also need to go to our Explore Local Statistics team for winning this year's Campion Award. This is not only testament to their skilled work, but to the value of this incredibly useful service. Local data is a precious commodity that not only allows people to understand more about the area in which they live, but also helps us identify the challenges and opportunities facing different communities."

Notes to Editors:

• Visit the Explore Local Statistics service. 
• Read about the Refugee integration outcomes data-linkage pilot.
• Read about the new methodology for estimating excess mortality in the UK.

Background notes:

• Photos available upon request