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Written question asked by Caroline Dinenage (Conservative) on Wednesday, 12 February 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 February 2025. It was answered by Stephanie Peacock (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 March 2025 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Arts: Industry

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits for business and academic research of requiring the Office for National Statistics to publish statistical releases using 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes rather than the current 2-digit aggregation; and what assessment she has made of the impact of this on enabling enhanced sectoral analysis for monitoring the growth of the creative industries.

Answer

The Office for National Statistics is independent of ministers, who are therefore unable to require publication of any particular breakdowns, including statistics at 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes. DCMS has a strong working relationship with the Office for National Statistics, with significant collaboration between our officials. Through this relationship, we would request rather than require analysis.

We acknowledge the importance of sectoral analysis for monitoring the growth of the creative industries. The Office for National Statistics publishes some data at the 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification code level, such as in their Annual Business Survey, and offers a bespoke data service for requesting additional breakdowns where sample sizes allow. The ONS is bound by the Code of Practice for Statistics to ensure the quality of all estimates is appropriate and that any business data is protected and not identifiable in published statistics. DCMS publishes a portfolio of official statistics about the creative industries, predominantly based on data held by the Office for National Statistics.

Both DCMS and ONS are committed to developing official statistics and ensuring these reflect the needs of users.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
30999
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Arts Industry Research Office for National Statistics Classification schemes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk