Role and main responsibilities
Statistics Jersey is the central statistical office for Jersey. It was established by the
Statistics and Census (Jersey) Law 2018. Under this law we have professional and operational independence to produce official statistics.
We produce official statistics relating to the:
These statistics are published openly online and available free of charge.
We also deliver impartial analysis to Jersey residents, businesses and the government.
Our main responsibilities include:
- producing key information on Jersey's economy and population such as inflation, house prices and census
- carrying out regular surveys such as household spending and income, and the Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey
- producing a range of public health statistics
- advising and assisting States' departments on survey design and analysis
- running independent surveys on behalf of other States' departments
- providing a statistical service to the public, politicians, States' departments and businesses
Official statistics are produced and published by the Official Statistics Production team in line with our
statistical publications release schedule.
To share your comments on the official statistics produced in Jersey email
statistics@gov.je.
How we use the statistics we produce
Official statistics provide a picture of society, the economy and the work and performance of government. They are fundamental to:
- good government
- the delivery of public services
- decision-making in all sectors of society
Statistics we produce are analysed across government to understand trends, evaluate outcomes and develop strategies.
Our work includes:
- publishing data and indicators to help decision makers and Islanders measure progress against Island Outcomes and government organisational performance
- providing a central statistical resource to the organisation, including developing organisation wide statistical standards and guidance
- working with cross-departmental datasets to provide statistical insights to help policy colleagues and ministers make decisions to improve outcomes for the whole Island
We release all our publications at 10am on weekdays. We do not grant pre-release access to any group or individual unless in exceptional circumstances.
Statistics Jersey reports
How we collect and protect your data
Statistics Jersey collects data from survey and non-survey sources.
We collect survey data directly from businesses and individuals, and use data already held by the Government of Jersey.
We try to:
- minimise the burden on the public by balancing the number of surveys we ask people to participate in with the minimum responses we require to produce reliable, robust statistics
- re-use data as much as we can
- supplement survey data with administrative data that has already been obtained
Statistics Jersey's privacy policy
List of administrative data sources we use to produce statistics
Data security
All data held by Statistics Jersey is kept secure and confidential. While we only publish aggregated statistics, never individual level data or statistics that could identify individuals, these statistics are compiled from individual records which may contain personal or commercially sensitive information.
We recognise that this information is sensitive and take its security very seriously:
- data collected from individuals and businesses in paper form, such as Census questionnaires, Jersey Opinion and Lifestyle Survey questionnaires, is kept within the Statistics Jersey secure office until it can be entered onto an electronic database. Paper copies are then destroyed in line with the Statistics Jersey retention schedule. The exception to this is paper census questionnaires which are transferred to Jersey Archive for secure storage and release after 100 years. In extreme circumstances, paper records may be temporarily stored in third party secure storage in Island due to space constraints in the Statistics Jersey office
- data returned electronically or entered onto an electronic database from a paper return will be held on a Government of Jersey secure server with access controls. Access to this server is limited to Statistics Jersey staff. Data is held in line with the Statistics Jersey retention policy.
- copies of data already held by the Government of Jersey are transferred to Statistics Jersey by secure means, such as secure shared areas on the Government of Jersey server or via Egress secure file sharing system, and saved on a Government of Jersey secure server with access limited to Statistics Jersey staff. This data is utilised for the production of statistics and retained in line with the Statistics jersey retention policy
- raw data from other government departments used in the data-linking project is copied into a secure ‘matching’ database either by means of secure shared folders or secure Egress email. The matching database is accessible only to a very small number of Statistics Jersey data engineers. The data is matched to produce an anonymised population spine and population models for each quarter or year. These anonymised population models are stored in a separate ‘reporting’ database where they can be used by analytical staff to conduct analysis and produce statistical reporting
All Statistics Jersey staff are vetted and must sign an agreement that they understand and comply with the Jersey Statistics and Census Law.
Information Governance
In line with good practice, all distinct pieces of work conducted by Statistics Jersey have been subject to an appropriate level Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).
Where data is shared with us from other entities, usually other Government Departments, Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) are in place.
Data Linkage
The Statistics and Census (Jersey) Law, 2018 incorporates this method of producing statistics by stating that Statistics Jersey must:
- consider the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities and, in conjunction with them, to facilitate the realising of this potential in so far as resources permit
- for the purposes of a census, analyse and link data collected for administrative purposes already in the possession of Statistics Jersey or readily obtainable by it
By using and linking administrative data, Statistics Jersey can produce more accurate, timely statistics while reducing the burden on Islanders to provide data they have given the government previously.
- this information is used for statistical purposes only – it isn’t used to make any decisions about individual people.
- Statistics Jersey are prohibited by law to give out any individual level data, or aggregated data that could identify individuals. This includes to other branches of the government. Even the branch of government that gave us the information in the first place. This guarantees that Statistics Jersey information cannot be used to prejudice an individual
- the information is kept secure. Technical, procedural and staff checks are in place to ensure that data in our care is well looked after. We take this very seriously. Statistics Jersey staff face jail and a fine if they do not follow the strict data security guidelines
- the data is used to produce aggregated statistics, such as data about the behaviours, characteristics, or opinions of particular aggregated populations of the Island. For example, women aged 31 to 40, people working in agriculture or people living in St Ouen. This information can then be used to make decision which benefit all Islanders
- Statistics Jersey is independent from government. Its role is entirely about producing statistics, not making operational decisions affecting the public. It’s overseen by an independent body called the Statistics Users Group which is non-political and non-governmental
- using administrative data saves Islanders time, effort and money. It’s a more efficient and effective way of gathering information
Our initial administrative data linking project will produce a population model showing the size, age and sex of the Jersey population per year. This will also include better estimates of immigration and emigration. In the future, other characteristics may be added to the population model such as ethnicity) to build up richer model enabling more in depth analysis.
Guidance and policy documents
Below are the curent Statistics Jersey guidance and policy documents:
Experimental Statistics - guidance and interpretation
gov.je