Attitudes to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland - Background Quality Report
Introduction
Context for the quality report.
The ‘Attitudes to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland’ Official Statistics report is published by The Executive Office’s (TEO’s) Analytical Unit. This Background Quality Report provides a summary of how the Official Statistics report adheres to various dimensions of quality.
The report, with data for 2024, was published in September 2025, and is the third in the series. The data are taken from the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, an annual survey run by Access Research Knowledge (ARK). ARK is a social policy hub, established in 2000 by researchers at Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast.
The intention is to continue to publish the ‘Attitudes to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland’ report annually going forward.
Relevance
The degree to which the statistical product meets user needs in both coverage and content.
The 2024 report, published in September 2025, is the third report in the series. It presents results from the 2024 NILT survey on the extent to which adults in Northern Ireland agree with the following statements:
Thinking about people who come to Northern Ireland to get away from persecution in their own country. How much do you agree or disagree that these asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland? (asked each year since 2018)
It should be easier for asylum seekers to obtain refugee status in Northern Ireland (asked each year since 2023)
Asylum seekers should have the same access to employment as the rest of the Northern Ireland population (asked each year since 2023)
Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country (asked each year since 2019)
I think it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country (asked each year since 2019)
Refugees contribute to our society (asked each year since 2023)
Refugees and asylum seekers are not respected in Northern Ireland (asked each year since 2023)
I would like more opportunities to get to know asylum seekers or refugees (asked each year since 2023)
People’s perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers are negatively affected by the media (asked each year since 2023)
People fleeing the war in Ukraine should be allowed to come to Northern Ireland (asked each year since 2023)
This publication presents 2024 results to each question for the overall sample, with further analysis by sex, age, religion, marital status, disability, sexual orientation and urban/rural area available in the accompanying data tables.
Time series information, as well as breakdowns by Local Government District (LGD) and ethnic identity, are also presented.
It is anticipated that the report will be useful to: TEO and other government departments; local councils; community and voluntary sector organisations; educational professionals; academics; media; and the general public.
A user survey, seeking feedback on the coverage and content of the report, was published alongside the 2024 edition. It is expected that the results to this survey, as well as more targeted user engagement, will help to inform the content and design of future releases.
Accuracy and Reliability
The proximity between an estimate and the unknown true value.
Sample
The annual NILT survey is administered to a representative sample of the adult (aged 18+) population in Northern Ireland. The 2024 survey sample was a systematic random sample of addresses selected from the Postcode Address File (PAF). The PAF is the most up-to-date and complete list of addresses in the UK, maintained by the Royal Mail. Non-residential addresses and businesses were removed from the list, where possible. The sample was stratified proportionately by LGD area.
In 2024, 8,000 addresses were drawn from the PAF and invited to complete the survey. An invitation letter, containing a unique URL survey link, was issued to each household. To ensure that the survey was as inclusive as possible, participants could also ask to complete the survey by telephone. The invitation letter indicated that only the adult with the next birthday within the household was eligible for participation. Of the 8,000 potential participants, 1,199 completed the survey: a response rate of 15%. The asylum seeker and refugee questions were answered by between 1,188 and 1,198 respondents.
Move to online survey
Prior to 2020, the survey was administered face-to-face. This changed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now conducted primarily online. The move to an online survey was fully tested and is not considered to constitute a break in the time series.
Sampling error and weights
As NILT is a sample survey, there is a certain level of sampling error. This means that the characteristics of the group sampled will differ from the population as a whole. To account for this, and to ensure that reported estimates better represent the population, the data have been weighted by age, gender, and location, based on information from the Northern Ireland Census.
Confidence intervals and statistical significance
The supplementary data tables include detail on the 95% confidence intervals for each estimate. Statistically significant differences over time have been highlighted in the report, with full detail, including statistically significant differences between sub-population groups, presented in worksheets 11a to 11j in the supplementary data tables. Further information on how to interpret the confidence intervals and significant differences is included in the ‘Technical notes’ section of the main report and the ‘Metadata’ worksheet in the supplementary data tables.
Timeliness and Punctuality
Timeliness refers to the time gap between publication and the reference period. Punctuality refers to the gap between planned and actual publication dates.
Data for the 2024 NILT survey was collected between 6 September 2024 and 19 November 2024. The ‘Attitudes to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland 2024’ report was published in September 2025, which is 10 months after the end of the reference period.
The report was published on the planned date, as pre-announced on TEO’s website and Gov.uk.
Accessibility and Clarity
Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the metadata, illustrations and accompanying advice.
The 2024 report was published in an HTML format on TEO’s website on the pre-announced publication date. The report is also available in alternative formats upon request. Contact details are provided within the published report. A link to the report was emailed to a list of key users.
Within the report, charts and maps include titles, axis names and footnotes, where relevant.
Additionally, the main report includes a ‘Technical notes’ annex which provides summary background information, definitions, and methodological explanations.
Supplementary data tables accompanying this publication are available in Microsoft Excel and OpenDocument Spreadsheet formats on TEO’s website. The tables also contain breakdowns by sub-population groups, not contained within the report. They also include a ‘Metadata’ worksheet providing definitions and methodological explanations.
Coherence and Comparability
Coherence is the degree to which data that are derived from different sources or methods, but refer to the same topic, are similar. Comparability is the degree to which data can be compared over time and domain.
The statistics contained within this report are derived solely from the NILT survey. This is the only publicly available source of data, representative of the adult population in Northern Ireland, on public attitudes to refugees and asylum seekers. As such, there are no direct comparisons with other data sources.
Three of the ten questions analysed within the main report have been included consistently since 2018 or 2019. The remaining seven questions have been included since 2023.
No directly comparable data for Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland are currently published.
Trade-offs between Output Quality Components
Trade-offs are the extent to which different aspects of quality are balanced against each other.
It is the nature of sampling variability that the smaller the group whose size is being estimated, the less precise (proportionately) that estimate is. Estimates for groups where the sample base is less than 50 have been omitted from the report, as they are likely to be unreliable. This is denoted by ‘[u]’ in the supplementary data tables.
To provide a more robust and in-depth analysis, response options ‘Strongly agree’ and ‘Agree’ were combined as ‘Agree’ for each statement. Response options ‘Strongly disagree’ and ‘Disagree’ were combined as ‘Disagree’. Additionally, where appropriate, demographic categories were combined to achieve a group sample suitable for publication.
To ensure the achieved sample for each LGD and ethnic identity was sufficient for analysis, 2023 and 2024 NILT data were combined. To provide context, a Northern Ireland estimate, for 2023 and 2024 combined, was also provided in the report and accompanying data tables for each.
Assessment of User Needs and Perceptions
The processes for finding out about users and uses, and their views on the statistical products.
A user survey, seeking feedback on the coverage and content of the report, was published alongside the 2024 edition. It is expected that the results to this survey, as well as more targeted user engagement, will help to inform future releases.
Performance, Cost and Respondent Burden
The effectiveness, efficiency and economy of the statistical output.
The costs involved in administering the NILT survey are shared across all those purchasing modules of questions in the survey. TEO Analytical Unit procures at least two modules each year, one of which includes questions on refugees and asylum seekers.
Respondent burden is shared across all public sector organisations purchasing modules within the survey. The total time to complete these modules is subsequently apportioned across all public sector organisations required to report respondent burden.
Confidentiality, Transparency and Security
The procedures and policy used to ensure sound confidentiality, security and transparent practices.
The NILT data provided by ARK are anonymised (name/address and any other identifiable information is removed from the database). In addition, the data represent a sample of the population and there is no way for Analytical Unit to identify the sample chosen from the population. The data are held within TEO’s secure record management system and secure shared drive, with restricted access and subject to approved record retention protocols.
Responses are presented as weighted percentages and analysis is only carried out if the sample size in the population sub-category is large enough.
Statistical disclosure control has been applied to instances of small cell counts (less than five). Data are not presented for confidentiality purposes. This is denoted by ‘[c]’ in the supplementary data tables.
Statistical outputs are only seen by authorised staff prior to their publication.