Keeping up to date with the latest data and statistics

Barely a day goes by without an article on the morning news bulletin announcing, “according to the latest figures…” or “statistics released today show that…”

There’s a wealth of data being collected, analysed and published and sometimes you’re left wondering, “how do I keep up with these data releases?”

One of the services I use to help stay on top of the latest available data from central government is the RSS feed from the UK Statistics Authority.

The UK Statistics Authority was set-up by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and its objective is to promote and safeguard the quality of official statistics that serve the public good. It is also required to safeguard the comprehensiveness of official statistics, and ensure good practice in relation to official statistics. It has three main functions, one of which is to monitor and report on all UK official statistics, wherever produced.

One of the ways that they do this is through their website, www.statistics.gov.uk, and through the RSS feed.

The feed includes data and statistical releases from government sources including but certainly not limited to the Office for National Statistics, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office and Communities and Local Government. It’s a quick and easy way to keep up to date with the latest releases.

Some recent releases have included:

• Health and safety statistics 2007/08
• Crime in England and Wales quarterly update
• Economic and labour market review
• Citizenship headline findings
• Taking part survey: Headline findings from the child survey 2007

If you want to know more about RSS feeds and how to get started with them, we have a succinct guide to RSS on our site and the BBC have an alternative guide to using RSS on their website.

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