ONS Local

A multidisciplinary team from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have been innovating to make local statistics more accessible and usable for local government decision makers.

The team have recently launched Explore local statistics, a beta service to help people find facts and figures about their local areas, in line with the Government Statistics Service (GSS) subnational data strategy. These new digital products are designed to help users find, visualise, compare, and download statistics for local areas, and make decisions at a local level.

Data and statistics are most valuable with insight. Therefore, the ONS has also established ONS Local, an analytical advisory service supporting local government across the English regions and the Devolved Administrations in accessing and making the best use of local data. They provide analytical support to key local users, including delivering bespoke projects to fill local data gaps - conducted in collaboration or by ONS Local themselves - highlighting user needs identified locally with other parts of ONS/GSS; support navigating the current landscape of available subnational data; and capability building activities. This close working enables local information and expertise to be combined with granular data to maximise analytical insight, leading to better decision making locally.