Code of Practice for Statistics: compliance statement

Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and a producer of Official Statistics within the Scottish Administration. We produce official statistics in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Statistics and adhere to the Scottish Government's Code of Practice for Statistics: Compliance Statement, which sets out how the principles of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value are applied across the Scottish Government Statistical Service.

As part of the Scottish Government Statistics Group, statisticians in Social Security Scotland operate within the same professional governance and statistical frameworks used across the Scottish Government.

The Head of Profession for Statistics and statistical staff within Social Security Scotland are responsible for ensuring these principles are applied in our statistical work. This includes the production and publication of statistics relating to Scotland's social security system, including information on benefit delivery, application outcomes and operational performance.

In particular, we:

• produce statistics independently and free from political influence
• publish statistics openly and transparently, including information on methods, quality and limitations
• protect the confidentiality of individuals and comply with relevant data protection legislation
• apply appropriate quality assurance processes throughout the statistical production cycle
• engage with users to ensure our statistics continue to meet their needs and provide public value

We are committed to ensuring that our statistics provide accurate and impartial information about Scotland's social security system, support informed public debate, and contribute to evidence-based decision-making.

The Social Security Scotland Data and Methodology Changes document details our policy for data revisions. It also includes information on ongoing data quality issues, and a chronological reference to previously applied data revisions.

Further information on the production of Social Security Scotland statistics, and how we aim to comply with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice can be found on our About Statistics page.

Contact

Users are welcome to contact us directly with any comments or feedback on how we meet these standards at MI@socialsecurity.gov.scot.