Statistical office

System of early access to some data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia in advance of first release

Summary

High-quality communication of the highest officials in the government with the public regarding the phenomena monitored by statistical data requires prior preparation and being acquainted with these data. After studying practices of national statistical institutes in the EU member states, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia prepared procedures and the protocol for access to some statistical data in advance of first release, but only for the most important officials and between 6 and 24 hours in advance of first release. The recipients of these data will sign a special declaration stating that they will treat these data according to rules and taking into account the protocol of procedures.

Release of Statistical Office’s data

For the society, government, public administration and the economy, official statistical data are an indispensable tool for estimating the situation and development of individual segments of the society, for policy planning and for monitoring the effects of policies. With a transparent publishing procedure known in advance, the Statistical Office as the central institution in the Slovene system of national statistics provides access to statistical data and information, methodologies of statistical surveys and information on Statistical Office’s activities and activities of national statistics to all users according to the National Statistics Act.

Data and information are published by the Statistical Office on its website at 10.30 according to the advance release calendar, which is published on the website and contains accurate daily and weekly releases and forecasted releases for the current calendar year. Data on average monthly earnings are also published according to the release calendar, however, not at 10.30 but by the end of the office hours.

Reasons for granting early access to some statistical data in advance of first release

The interest of the public to learn about the phenomena and situation in our society, which we describe and present with the help of official statistical data, reflects in every greater attention given by the media to topical statistics and comments of data, not only by representatives of research institutions but also by representatives of the government immediately after first release by the Statistical Office.

A detailed study of the practices of national statistical institutes of EU member states has shown that almost a half of them provide early access to some data for a limited circle of users representing the highest government officials. Striving for better harmonisation of ways to access some statistical data in advance of release, the Statistical Office has offered access to such statistics but only for selected officials. With early access to some data, communication of these officials with the public will be better and supported by official statistical data.

The European Statistics Code of Practice

The European Statistics Code of Practice is the first instrument at European level the purpose of which is to systematically improve the quality of European statistics. It is also its aim to improve trust of users of statistical data and information and of data providers in independence, integrity and accountability of national statistical systems and the European statistical system. The role of the Code of Practice is to stimulate the use of best statistical principles, methods and practices for enhancing the quality. The Code is addressed to governments of EU member states, the European Commission, national statistical institutes and the Statistical Office of the European Communities. As important information it was also presented to the public, both users of statistical information and statistical data providers.

Principle 6 of the European Statistics Code of Practice on impartiality and objectivity describes access of users to statistical data and information stating that statistical authorities must produce and disseminate European statistics respecting scientific independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably and pre-release access to any outside user is limited, controlled and publicised.
However, in case of leak of information, access to information in advance of release should be checked to provide impartiality.

Access to some statistical data in advance of first release in EU member states and the European Commission

The comparative study of regulations regarding early access to statistical data in advance of release shows that almost a half of statistical institutes in the EU (12 of 26) provide such access: three provide access to statistical data only 1 hour in advance of release, two provide access 15/16 hours in advance of release, four provide access 24 hours in advance of release and two have various approaches depending on the type of data. The exception is the United Kingdom, which provides early access to data 40 hours in advance of release. All these statistical institutes provide early access only to some statistical data, the selection being very diverse, but financial data, price statistics, national accounts data, labour market data and data on production prevail.

Access to statistical data in advance of first release in EU member states and the European Commission (49 KB)

Early access to some statistical data in Slovenia

The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia regulates early access to some data very restrictively, taking into account all national statistics regulations, the European Statistics Code of Practice and good practices of those national statistical institutes in the EU that have already introduced the possibility of early access.

To this end we have prepared the Protocol for dealing with data in the early access system, which stipulates rules for dealing with data that are available before official release, and compulsory signing of the statement committing the person who has the right of early access to deal with the data according to this protocol.

The Statistical Office enables early access to some data prior to official release only to the following officials: Director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development and member of the Statistical Council. Data offered by the Statistical Office in the early access system are quarterly GDP, inflation rate, unemployment, earnings and external trade statistics, net lending or net borrowing of the general government sector (surplus or deficit), business and consumer surveys. The people who have early access are sent the so-called First Release labelled »do not disclose the data« via e-mail and/or a short SMS message (160 characters at the most) to the mobile phone – in both cases between 6 and 24 hours prior to official release.