NHS data sets under scrutiny

The most immediate impact is likely to be on statistics revealing the UK's growing obesity problem.

In a report published yesterday, the UK Statistics Authority recommends that annual data on child weight in England and comparative data on obesity, physical activity and diet across the UK should be designated as "national statistics".

This means the data must comply with the authority's quality code and will be laid before Parliament.

Last year, the authority criticised the lack of consistency in hospital admission waiting times between the four UK nations, which has made comparisons difficult.

Improvement work

The Department of Health has now told the authority that it is working to improve the quality of its waiting times and accident and emergency activity statistics with a view to designating them national statistics. The authority will watch progress on that before making its own recommendations.

Statistics Authority chair Sir Michael Scholar said: "The authority wishes to see the national statistics label recognised as an assurance that the statistics have been produced and explained to high standards, and that they serve the public good. By looking at whether the statistical system is meeting the needs of users of statistics and wider society, it will help, over time, to build trust in official statistics."

The report follows the authority's criticism of a Home Office press statement on knife crime issued in December that contained figures on hospital admissions which were released against the advice of statisticians at the NHS Information Centre.

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