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 weightingStarted 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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