Background Quality Report - NICTS Mortgages: Action for possession
Background Quality Report - NICTS Mortgages: action for possession
This report provides information on the quality of the data used to produce the accredited official statistics NICTS Mortgages: action for possession bulletin. It informs users about the quality of the information upon which they may be drawing conclusions and making decisions.
The report is structured around the five quality dimensions for statistical outputs (from the European Statistics Code of Practice, (PDF 458KB). The UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics requires that:
Q3.3 The quality of the statistics and data, including their accuracy and reliability, coherence and comparability, and timeliness and punctuality, should be monitored and reported regularly.
Introduction
The publication entitled Mortgages: actions for possession bulletin is produced quarterly by statisticians in the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS), an agency within the Department of Justice (DoJ). The statisticians are seconded from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
This bulletin has been published since 2013 and presents statistical information for cases received (i.e. writs and originating summonses issued), cases disposed and final orders made in respect of mortgages in the Chancery Division of the Northern Ireland High Court.
The statistics are produced using administrative data primarily sourced from the Integrated Court Operations System (ICOS), a live operating system used in each court tier to process every part of the court business from receipt of payments through to the production of final orders made.
Information is based on data extracted at the end of January, April, July and October each year, for example data covering the quarter January to March are extracted at the end of April, April to June are extracted at the end of July, July to September are extracted at the end of October, and October to December are extracted at the end of January.
More detail can be found in the associated document published on the NICTS QAAD webpage.
The reports are available to download from NICTS Mortgages: action for possession publication webpage.
Relevance
The degree to which the statistical release meets user needs in both coverage and content.
The information in the publication is used by NICTS policy officials in their role assisting and advising the Minister for Justice to discharge their duties. It is also used to answer NI Assembly and Justice Committee questions and to inform requests and queries from other Government organisations, the media and the general public.
The statistical release includes a pdf report containing charts and associated commentary as well as tables. Methodology information is included within the publication and further detail on the quality assurance information checks that are undertaken can be found on the NICTS QAAD webpage. In addition, data is provided in Open Document Spreadsheets.
User needs are identified through biennial online customer surveys, which can be accessed through the DoJ user surveys webpage. Each publication also has an email address where users are encouraged to provide feedback.
Accuracy and Reliability
The proximity between an estimate and the unknown true value.
These statistics are sourced from administrative systems used in each court tier to process every part of the court business from receipt of payments through to the production of final orders made.
The information is not a sample but a complete data set of all relevant cases recorded within the time period reported on.
Where records have been updated on the systems retrospectively, these updates may be missed if the data were downloaded too early. To minimise the impact of this, the data are extracted around 4 weeks after the end of the reporting period; this allows for the updating and completion of records across the systems concerned.
There is no absolute means of verifying if information has been entered incorrectly, or not at all. However, as ICOS is the main source of information used to manage day to day business within NICTS it needs to be highly accurate. Consequently, each court division has a case progression officer who is responsible for monitoring accuracy levels on ICOS and for promoting awareness of the impact that errors could have.
Numerous validation checks are carried out during the course of each year, by a number of parties, including NISRA statisticians, to ensure the data are fit for purpose. In relation to potential sources of bias and error, further details can also be found in the QAAD report published on the NICTS QAAD webpage.
Users should note that some published figures may not add to the totals due to rounding.
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.
The statisticians producing the report continually look for ways that the processes can be streamlined while at the same time maintaining or improving the accuracy of the data. The gap between the reference date and the publication date is due to the time allowed for the updating of administrative records and the time it takes to resolve various data quality issues.
Typically the quarterly reports are published 8 weeks after the reference date.
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 release can be accessed from the NICTS Mortgages: action for possession publication webpage on the DoJ website. It can also be accessed through the NISRA Mortgages: action for possession publication page on gov.uk.
The statistical release includes a pdf report containing charts and associated commentary as well as tables. In addition, data is provided in Open Document Spreadsheets. All outputs are available to download free of charge.
The contact details of the responsible statistician have been included in the bulletin, as well as in the accompanying tables.
Explanatory information including sources, discontinuities and missing data have been included.
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.
Comparable data for each quarter is published from 2007 in the open data spreadsheets and data for 10 years for the relevant quarter is published in the report, along with commentary.
The court structure of Northern Ireland does not equate to that in England, Wales, Scotland or the Republic of Ireland. Direct comparisons between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and Ireland therefore cannot be made.
Similar information for England and Wales is published on a quarterly basis in the Mortgage and landlord statistics publication .
Trade-offs between Output Quality Components
No trade-offs applied.
Assessment of User Needs and Perceptions
The processes for finding out about users and uses, and their views on the statistical products.
User needs are identified through biennial online customer surveys, which can be accessed through the DoJ user surveys webpage. Each publication also has an email address where users are encouraged to provide feedback.
Regular meetings also take place with key users within the NICTS.
Performance, Cost and Respondent Burden
The effectiveness, efficiency and economy of the statistical output.
There is no respondent burden, since the data are held on an administrative system, and data on new cases are automatically collected as part of the Criminal Justice process.
The quarterly operational cost (staff time) of producing the report is approximately 4 days.
Confidentiality, Transparency and Security
The procedures and policy used to ensure sound confidentiality, security and transparent practices.
Data received are anonymised (name/address information removed) and standard disclosure control methodology is applied to the data. This ensures that information attributable to an individual is not identifiable in any published outputs and that the outputs are only seen by authorised staff prior to their publication.
All staff involved are trained on the protocols for protecting and maintaining the confidentiality of the data. NISRA follows the ‘National Statistician’s Guidance: Confidentiality of Official Statistics’ in the collection and dissemination of this report.
Data are held on a network that is only accessible to the few statisticians who need access. More detailed information on the processes used to produce the database and output are outlined in the QAAD report published on the NICTS QAAD webpage.
The pre-release access list for the report is reviewed on a quarterly basis. The named individuals are checked to ensure that they are the correct contact and that they are available on the day before the release of the report (if they are not then they can nominate a deputy). A guidance document is also sent to those on the revised list explaining to them their obligations about data disclosure prior to the publication of the report.