Contents

• Characteristics The Netherlands’ official statistics • Driving forces for change • The use of administrative data: preconditions for efficient use.

• Two cases • Lessons learned • The way ahead

Characteristics The Netherlands’ official statistics • Highly centralised: Statistics Netherlands produces 95% of official statistics • No regional offices • Professional independence guaranteed by law and highly respected • Strong tradition for statistical integration: system of national accounts and modules

Driving forces for change

• Ongoing budget cuts (- 30% since 1999) • Need for new statistical information – Programme renewal – Faster and more flexible outputs – Strong emphasis on European demands – Quality improvement • Cutting back the administrative burden • Increased availability of external administrations and registers • Competition from third parties (ICT developments, availability registerdata)

The use of administrative data

Preconditions for use: • Legal obligation (2004) first external available data must be used, and surveys on second place.

• Free access to administrations • Legal possibilities matching data files • Unique identification numbers both for businesses and persons

The use of administrative data (2) • External political support • Imposed reduction of response burden by 25% for businesses • At National and EU – level • Wider existance of administrations and registrations in the country • Enabling provisions in national legislation

Examples of administrative data sources Some examples: • The Dutch population register • The social security administration • Corporate tax administation • Land ownership registration • Comprehensive business register

Two show cases

I Social Statistical Data base II Dutch Taxonomy project (XBRL)

Case I:The Social Statistical Database • The SSD: all relevant information on persons, families, households, jobs, benefits and living quarters • Product: consistent statistical output • Advantages: regional detail, more information on smaller groups, ‘on demand outputs’.

Case I: The Social Statistical Database • Primary base: register information • Additionally: survey data from business and households • Backbone: Dutch population register • All other files linked: demographic data, income tax, labour market participation, social security benefits, educational attainment, housing.

Case I: Social Statistical Database Methodology: • Micro-integration: linking records from different sources (link: identification number) • Check for consistency and corrected • Consistent and repeated weighting Started in 1997 • Sampling frame for special social surveys • Basis for output in social area and input for Statline database • Virtual census in 2001, to be repeated in 2011.

Case II: The Dutch Taxonomy project • Objective: standardisation of the reporting requirements for business to different parts of government (tax, annual reporting, statistics) • How: using single technical standard (XBRL) and common vocabulary of government administrations.

• Build in functionality in software programmes

Case II: the Dutch Taxonomy project • So far: no single report for business to all administrations, but a modular more tailor made report.

• For SN: from 189 to 6 reports • Still: limited success in so far (contrary to Portugal) • Reasons: not build in business software • Voluntary • Lack of political support • But a clear way forward in future.

Lessons learned

• Legal basis is precondition (but not enough) • Strong political support indispensable • Innovation from the own organisation is prerequisite • Contacts at all levels NSI – administrations • NSI involvement in setting up and changing administrations: standards/concepts • Variations in quality of administrative data • NSIs not in control • Risk of abolishment of basic administrations

Our future environment

Our environment the coming years: • Integrated Architecture Framework to be implemented in 2011 • Future budget reductions?

• Further reduction administrative burden: high political issue • Enrichment of outputs by more and higher quality

The way ahead

Future directions: • Stronger co-operation statistics/administrations (one counter) • Joint research and programmes • Stronger profile for NSI as ‘bureau of standard’ • Create value added for statistics • More service oriented attitude NSIs • Political support

Thank you for your attention

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