The document summarizes an event held by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to discuss their plans to transform household financial statistics. The event included presentations on the current household financial statistics program, the vision and strategic direction for transformation, areas of transformation being considered in their consultation, and closing remarks. The ONS is seeking feedback on proposals to improve coherence, timeliness, coverage, and reduce respondent burden through combining surveys, using administrative data, and modernizing systems and tools. The consultation will help shape their plans to better meet user needs.

1. Transforming the ONS’s
household financial
statistics - user event
17 January 2023
slido #17012

2. Agenda
14:30 – 14:35 Welcome and introduction, Mike Keoghan, Deputy National Statistician & Director
General, Economic, Social and Environmental Statistics Group, Office for National
Statistics
14:35 – 14:50 Household Financial Statistics: Statistics for the Public Good, Adrian Chesson, Project
Executive for Household Financial Statistics Transformation (HFST), Office for National
Statistics
14:50 – 15:20 Future Household Financial Statistics: Areas to Consider, Carla Kidd, Product Owner
for Household Financial Statistics Transformation (HFST), Office for National
Statistics
15:20 – 15:50 Q&A, Chair: Adrian Chesson, Project Executive for Household Financial Statistics
Transformation (HFST)
15:50 – 16:00 Closing Remarks, Tris Browne, Assistant Deputy Director for Household Financial
Statistics Transformation, Office for National Statistics
slido #17012

3. Transforming the ONS’s
household financial
statistics - user event
Welcome and Introduction
Mike Keoghan
Deputy National Statistician & Director General,
Economic, Social and Environmental Statistics Group
Office for National Statistics
slido #17012

4. Household Financial
Statistics: Statistics for
the Public Good
Adrian Chesson
Project Executive for Household Financial Statistics
Transformation (HFST)
Office for National Statistics
slido #17012

5. Key for informing policy and public debate
• Understanding people’s finances:
income, expenditure, wealth
• Exploring inequalities:
geographical regions, population
groups, characteristics
• Responsive and relevant:
cost of living
• Policy implications:
directing resources to those in need

6. Our current suite of household financial statistics

7. Scope of the transformation
Sources Technology Processes People/Skills

8. Vision
for HFST
Our ambition is for our
household finance statistics
to provide inclusive,
coherent, timely and
granular insights into wide
aspects of the financial
wellbeing of households
with improved coverage
and accuracy.
“
”
• Evolving user needs
• Sustainability and value
• Alignment with ONS strategy
• Addressing known issues

9. Proposed transformation

10. HFST Strategic Direction
Combine
• Current survey improvements
• New Survey transformation (Modular collection of Income, Expenditure and Wealth)
• Greater use of administrative data for Expenditure and Income (transitioning and combining
Experimental Admin Based Income Statistics with other data to form National Statistics)
Use
• Modernised systems (e.g. LCF)
• New tools (Respondent facing expenditure collection – Digital Diary)
• Existing and available tools and resources
• Extensive research and time already invested in use of Administrative Data to measure income
Deliver
• Improved coherence (National and Sub-National, Micro and Macro)
• Timelier statistics (Household Financial Indicators 8 weeks after reference period)
• Greater coverage
• Reduced respondent burden

11. HFST Consultation launch
On 1st December, we
launched our consultation
on our ambitious plans for
the transformation of our
Household Financial
Statistics.
Respondents have also
been sent a link to a
supplementary blog post,
‘A Wealth of data:
transforming ONS
statistics on income,
spending and wealth’.
Online event to take place
17th January 2023. This is
an opportunity to further
discuss the proposals in
the consultation, ask
questions and share
thoughts about the uses
and priorities for these key
statistics.
The consultation will
close on 23rd February
2023.
Responses will be
collated, analysed and
published in the spring.

12. Future Household
Financial Statistics:
Areas to Consider
Carla Kidd
Product Owner for Household Financial Statistics
Transformation (HFST)
Office for National Statistics
slido #17012

13. Aims of the HFST consultation
• Our consultation seeks feedback from users on a range of
related proposals, including:
• the need for a cross-cutting coherent suite of income,
expenditure and wealth statistics
• the value of more timely indicators ahead of detailed
estimates of income, spending and wealth and the
frequency and timeliness of detailed wealth statistics
• the demand for a single set of UK level household
income data
• proposed changes to detailed expenditure on food data
collection and whether there is a need to separate out
child expenditure data within the Living Cost and Food
(LCF) survey diary
• proposals exploring the user need for financial resilience,
material deprivation and poverty statistics
• the value of longitudinal wealth/income data to users

14. Why ONS is proposing these changes
Evolving
user needs
Sustainability
and value to
the tax payer
ONS
strategy
Addressing
known
issues

15. Why ONS is proposing these changes
Evolving
user needs
Sustainability
and value to
the tax payer
ONS
strategy
Addressing
known
issues
Cross-cutting
Granular
Detailed
Accurate
Timely

16. Why ONS is proposing these changes
Evolving
user needs
Sustainability
and value to
the tax payer
ONS
strategy
Addressing
known
issues
Expensive
Complex
Legacy technology
Expansive

17. Why ONS is proposing these changes
Evolving
user needs
Sustainability
and value to
the tax payer
ONS
strategy
Addressing
known
issues
Quality reviews
User feedback
Internal
feedback

18. Why ONS is proposing these changes
Evolving
user needs
Sustainability
and value to
the tax payer
ONS
strategy
Addressing
known
issues
Respondent
centric
Value
Innovative

19. Cross-cutting suite of statistics across income, expenditure
and wealth
• Cross-topic collection
• Statistical matching
• Alternative data
• Detailed cross-cutting outputs
• Consultation: assessing user
needs and use cases
User
needs
Accuracy
Strategy

20. Household Financial indicators
• Frequent and timely
• High-level income, expenditure and savings
• Attitudinal questions
• Trade-off between timeliness and
granularity/accuracy
• Useful for closer to real-time insight into how
households are responding to the wider
economic environment
• Consultation: help with identifying use cases
for these statistics and to design content
Responsive
Timeliness

21. ONS/HFS
• Effects of Taxes and Benefits (ETB)
• Household Disposable Income and Inequality (HDII)
DWP/FRS • Household below average income (HBAI)
UK household income statistics
• Consultation focussing on outputs/publications (income collection to continue)
• Want to establish how widely used ETB and HDII publications are
Coherence
Sustainability
and value

22. ONS’ small area income estimates
• Clear user need for small area income estimates
• ONS produce two versions currently (modelled
and admin-based)
• Propose aligning subnational and national
estimates and ultimately an aligned single set of
subnational income estimates
• Consultation:
• Which subnational estimates are being used
• Detail on granularity/frequency
• Comment on alignment plan
Coherence
Sustainability
and quality

23. Changes to food data collection
Proposals to drop:
• Collection of weights and measures for food and drink items
brought home
• Details for take away meals, including the recording of:
• Portion sizes
• Take away items separately, replacing this with a
distinction between hot and cold take away meals
• Details for meals, snacks and drink consumed away from the
home, including:
• If tea/coffee was with/without milk and sugar
• Recording of food and drink items separately and
replacing with 6 higher level food categories, and 10
soft/alcoholic drinks categories
• Home grown/free food
• Who uses food data? What impact would not collecting it
have?
Sustainability
and quality
Respondent
burden

24. Changes to child spending data
• Reviewing the need to collect diary data directly from 7-to-
15-year-old children
• Requesting input from users on the use made of child
expenditure data
Sustainability
and quality
Respondent
burden

25. Re-introducing financial well-being, poverty and material
deprivation
Sustainability
and quality
Respondent
burden
EU-SILC:
• Longitudinal and cross-sectional data on income, poverty, social
exclusion and living conditions (2019)
• ONS’ persistent poverty publication (2019)
COVID-19 and EU exit:
• Operational changes to SLC removed some material deprivation
questions
• Deviation from EU-SILC requirements
Wider context:
• DWP’s family resources survey and associated publications
• Understanding Society (Essex)
Consultation:
• What users would like ONS to produce in this space
• How important international comparability is to users
Value to
taxpayer

26. Longitudinal design
Data quality
Current collection:
• Income collected annually for 6 waves
• Wealth collected every 2 years for 6 waves
Trade-offs:
• Attrition rates
• Cross-sectional data quality/sample bias
• Data complexity
Consultation:
• What value does our longitudinal data provide to you/your
organisation?
• What frequency and panel length would be preferred?
User need

27. Increased frequency and timeliness of wealth statistics
Data quality
Proposal:
• Annual statistics published within 12 months
Trade-offs:
• Lower sample sizes
• Rolling 2-year pooled sample for annual releases
Consultation:
• Do users want an annual release?
• Sample size?
• Specifics on content
User need Responsive

28. Closing remarks
Tris Browne
Assistant Deputy Director for Household Financial Statistics
Transformation
Office for National Statistics
slido #17012

29. Consultation
We are seeking views on our ambitious plans for the transformation of our household financial statistics.
These statistics cover the income, expenditure and wealth of UK Households and are a vital source of
information for understanding people’s finances including the effects from the rising cost of living.
This consultation sets out our plans for the next two and half years, laying out necessary transformation
steps, consistent with that longer term aim and building on our existing research in this space. Recognising
that in the shorter term we will continue to rely more heavily on surveys, particularly for data on expenditure
and wealth. Therefore, this consultation seeks views on plans for both the transformation of our surveys and
further development of our use of administrative data.
We ask you to consider our proposals for the transformation of household financial statistics and to provide
your responses to this consultation by Thursday 23 February 2023. A better understanding of your needs
and priorities will help us shape our ambitions and plans for these important statistics.
slido #17012

30. Thank you for attending the
Transforming the ONS’s household
financial statistics - user event
You can keep up to date on all upcoming events via
ons.gov.uk/economicevents
If you would like to ask a question or provide any feedback, please do so
via economic.engagement@ons.gov.uk