Administrative data is information collected by organisations during the delivery of their services, and can include personal data such as name, address, date of birth, as well as details of interactions, such as appointments made and attended, earnings and benefits information, school attendance and attainment, employment and so on.
Why do we use linked administrative data?
The Statistics and Census (Jersey) Law, 2018 states that Statistics Jersey must:
- seek to avoid collecting data where data collected for administrative purposes is readily accessible, of suitable quality and sufficiently up to date to enable it to carry out its functions under this Law.
- for the purposes of a census, analyse and link data collected for administrative purposes already in the possession of Statistics Jersey or readily obtainable by it. However, where such data is insufficient for the purposes of a census, further data may be collected by means of a sample survey or a traditional census.
By using and linking administrative data, Statistics Jersey is usually able to produce more accurate, timely statistics.
Statistics Jersey is independent from government. Its role is entirely about producing statistics, not making operational decisions affecting the public. We only use people’s administrative data for statistical purposes – it is not used to make any decisions about individual people.
The data is used to produce aggregated statistics, such as data about the behaviours, characteristics, or opinions of population groups in the Island. For example, women aged 31 to 40; people working in agriculture; or people living in St Ouen. This information can then be used by politicians and others to make decisions which benefit all Islanders
Using linked administrative data also allows us to analyse groups of people over time, for example the migration behaviours and employment characteristics of particular inward migrant cohorts.
Statistics Jersey are prohibited by law to give out any individual level data, or aggregated data that could identify individuals. This includes to other departments in government, even the department that gave us the information in the first place.
We keep the information shared with us secure. Technical, procedural and staff measures are in place to ensure that data in our care is safe and secure. We take this very seriously. Statistics Jersey staff face jail and a fine if they do not follow our strict data security guidelines
Finally, using administrative reduces the burden on Islanders and businesses as they will not need to provide Statistics Jersey with data already held by government. It’s a more efficient and effective way of producing statistics.
What administrative data do we use?
We maintain a list of administrative data sources we use to produce statistics where we list what data is collected by Statistics Jersey and for what purposes.
For more information on how we use your personal data see our privacy policy.
What statistical outputs use linked administrative data?
Since June 2023, population and migration statistics published by Statistics Jersey have used linked administrative data to produce the estimates. A report on the methodology, including an evaluation of its accuracy highlighted the potential of this approach.
Additional publications that have used linked administrative data include:
Gender pay gap in Jersey report – 2024
Earnings statistics and gender pay gap June 2023