Consultation on reforming Ethnicity facts and figures
The Race Disparity Unit has today launched a public consultation on proposals to reform the Ethnicity facts and figures website. This work is to fulfil a commitment made in the Inclusive Britain Action Plan.
What is Ethnicity facts and figures?
Ethnicity facts and figures brings together ethnicity data from across government into a single, easily-accessed location, where it can be combined with other factors like geography and gender. The website is a world-first and has been welcomed internationally for its open and data-driven approach to highlighting disparities.
With over 180 pages of data, or ‘measure pages’, as well as summary reports, guidance and links to further research, the website has grown and developed considerably since its launch in 2017.
But users tell us that we could be doing more and that the data and analysis that we provide could be more useful. We want to rise to this challenge.
What are we asking about?
We want to help users of Ethnicity facts and figures understand the drivers and factors behind the largest and most notable disparities. By providing summaries of deeper analysis for these disparities, we can provide better evidence to help policy-makers target interventions and resources at real points of need.
We are consulting on three proposals that we think will improve the utility of Ethnicity facts and figures to make it more relevant, user focussed, and cost effective. The proposals are:
- To reduce the amount of commentary published on Ethnicity facts and figures for lower-priority measure pages.
- To redevelop statistics presented by two ethnic groups to provide more useful information.
- To identify the priorities for which we will provide additional analysis.
With very few exceptions, the data currently provided on Ethnicity facts and figures will continue to be published, although in some cases it will be in a different format. It will also still be published by relevant government departments. We do recognise that this may impact some users and look to minimise this by providing links and signposting to other appropriate sources.
As users of Ethnicity facts and figures, your views are crucial in helping us reshape the website to best effect. We encourage you to provide your views through the consultation website.
You can also contact us if you have any additional queries about this work.
What else are we doing?
The reform of Ethnicity facts and figures is just one way in which the Race Disparity Unit is developing and improving the understanding of ethnic disparities. We have a significant and ambitious programme of analysis outlined for the future, and will be working with colleagues across government closely to improve the quality of the ethnicity data collected through surveys and administrative systems.
