Government reports:
Government reports may present information on specific issues, for example, unemployment, but may not always link the report to a wider context, for example, poverty, low economic activity and racial inequalities.
Therefore, work by think tanks like Pivotal can illuminate areas of improvement for policies that government advisers may not have previously considered.
Sources of Official Information:
Sources of official information are numerous and often constitute documents, records, and reports that are held and/or created by government or public bodies. For Example, the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Public Records Office Northern Ireland (PRONI), and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
Office of National Statistics (ONS)-
The ONS is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Moreover, it’s the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national statistical institute of the UK.
It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional and local levels.
It plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics.
Public Records Office Northern Ireland (PRONI)-
The PRONI is the official achieve for Northern Ireland located in the Titanic Quarters in Belfast and a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC).
It aims to identify and preserve records of historical, social and cultural importance and make them available for the information, education and enjoyment of the public.
Moreover, it advises on and promotes best practice in archive and records management to ensure that today's records will be available for future generations.
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)-
This is an executive agency within the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland.
The organisation is responsible for the collection and publication of statistics related to the economy, population and society of Northern Ireland.
It is also responsible for conducting the Census every ten years.
What is the Census?
It collects information about people and households in Northern Ireland every decade.
This helps provide a snapshot of a country at a given time and when systematically carried out allows for comparisons over time and between areas.
The information is processed and used by central and local government, health authorities, and other organisations to plan for and provide future services.
For example, increasing school funding in areas where families with school age children are increasing.
In order to access information from the Census please visit: https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/census
