1. Art and Diseño

Friday 30th January 2015
Issued by
Office for National Statistics,
Government Buildings, Cardiff Road,
Newport, NP10 8XG
Media Office 0845 6041858
Business Area 01633 456455
Lead Statistician: Michael Hardie
Quality and Methodology Information
General details
Title of output:
Abbreviated title:
Designation:
Geographic coverage:
Contact details:
International Trade in Services
ITIS
National Statistics
UK including Northern Ireland
1
[email protected]
Executive summary
Exports
Imports
2
This report relates to the International Trade in Services (ITIS) survey. The ITIS survey is conducted
on both an annual and quarterly basis with both surveys measuring the value of transactions of UK
businesses by country of origin and destination. The quarterly sample is made up of approximately
1,100 businesses and the annual sample made up of approximately 14,500 businesses. The survey
data from both the quarterly and annual results are combined to produce the annual ITIS estimates
and are used as a key data source to compile total trade in service estimates. In 2009, the ITIS
survey incorporated the Film and Television survey which was discontinued as a standalone survey
in 2008. The ITIS survey is also supplemented by information collected via the Annual Business
3
Survey (ABS) in relation to amounts paid or received for the imports or exports of services. Care is
taken during the sampling and estimation process to avoid duplication between surveys.
ITIS data are collected by both industry and product on a geographical basis, by collecting data for
the countries to which services are exported to and where they are imported from. These data are
4
primarily used in the compilation of the services account for the UK’s Balance of Payments (BoP) ,
which in turn contributes towards the measure of UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The ITIS
estimates are published annually and are freely available via the ONS website.
This document contains the following sections:






Output quality;
About the output;
How the output is created;
Validation and quality assurance;
Concepts and definitions; and
Sources for further information or advice.
1
Output quality
(This document provides a range of information that describes the quality of the output and details
any points that should be noted when using the output.)
5
ONS has developed Guidelines for Measuring Statistical Quality ; these are based upon the five
European Statistical System (ESS) quality dimensions. This document addresses these quality
dimensions and other important quality characteristics, which are:







Relevance;
Timeliness and punctuality;
Coherence and comparability;
Accuracy;
Output quality trade-offs;
Assessment of user needs and perceptions; and
Accessibility and clarity.
More information is provided about these quality dimensions in the sections below.
About the output
Relevance
(The degree to which the statistical outputs meet users’ needs.)
2
4
The results of the annual and quarterly ITIS survey, represent a key element of the BoP account and
6
2
.
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) . The results are published in detail in the ITIS publication The
results from the ITIS survey make up approximately 50% of total exports and 38% of total imports of
the Trade in Services Account for 2012.
8
As a condition of membership to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the UK is obliged to
provide detailed trade in services information. The Statistical Office of the European Communities
9
(Eurostat) also requires a detailed geographical breakdown of trade in services products to allow
construction of European Union (EU) aggregates. The geographical data also allow the analysis of
bilateral asymmetries between member states to take place. As such, businesses taking part in the
10
ITIS survey are required to respond under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 .
The data are also used by Supply/Use Production branch within National Accounts. Tables are
provided containing industrial and non-industrial service breakdown. They use the weighted flows of
2
the industry and product matrix data from ITIS for the analyses of industrial and non industrial services
supplied by the ABS.
Government and business users also use the data for economic assessment. The Department for
11
Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) states that the ITIS survey is the only source of product detail
for UK services and is essential for UK regional exports analyses. BIS also use the ITIS survey data to
monitor the competitiveness of UK businesses and to gain a better understanding of the level of
service exports.
12
In addition, The Scottish Government (SG) also show significant interest in the survey results to
supplement Scotland’s Global Connections Survey (GCS), and the Department for Culture Media and
13
Sport (DCMS) use the ITIS data in one of their main outputs, The Creative Industries Statistical
Bulletin.
Respondents are selected by industry and employment and can also be identified by product or
geography in order to produce various aggregates for analysis.
2
The 2011 edition of the ITIS publication contained for the first time a series of static and interactive
infographics which were developed to enhance the overall look of the publication and make the
product more appealing to users.
Survey History


2
Prior to 1996, the ITIS survey collected only two products; royalties and other services;
From 1996, the sample increased to 39 products, with an increase to the survey size. Each
product has its own identifiable code.
2












In 2001, two additional product codes were introduced for Insurance Brokers and Management
Charges. Insurance Brokers was taken over from another survey, whilst Management Charges
was a subset of code 19 ‘other’.
In 2001, following a recommendation from the 1998 Triennial review, the annual ITIS survey
sample size was increased from 10,000 to 20,000 businesses.
2002 saw the introduction of three further codes, all subsets of code 19 ‘other’. These were
Procurement, Publishing Services and Recruitment and Training.
In 2005, as a result of a questionnaire review, ITIS codes were reviewed, and the number of codes
increased from 44 to 51 as a result, including the collection of ‘Commodity Traders’.
In 2007, the random sample element of annual ITIS which collected detailed product information
was reduced from 13,500 businesses to 9,500 businesses. This was to accommodate the
3
inclusion of approximately 9,000 businesses sampled from the ABS where only a total imports
and exports values is reported. This reduced the compliance costs for ITIS resulting in a total
sample size of approximately 18,500 businesses.
In 2009, The Film and Television survey was incorporated into the annual ITIS survey.
In 2010, The Film and Television survey was incorporated into the quarterly ITIS survey.
In 2010, both the quarterly and annual samples were optimally re-allocated. The quarterly panel
increased by 350 businesses bringing the total sample size to approximately 1,100. To keep
compliance costs static, the annual panel was reduced by approximately 1,400 businesses
overall, keeping the annual and quarterly sample size constant.
Changes to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) (from SIC 2003 to SIC 2007) were
implemented into the ITIS annual 2009 and quarterly 2010 surveys.
In 2011, work began to ensure that the surveys became compliant with Balance of Payments
15
manual 6 (BPM6) as required by Eurostat.
In 2013, the revised ITIS questionnaire was dispatched to all quarterly respondents to collect
15
data as defined in the Balance of Payments manual 6 (BPM6) . The survey increased to 52
service products overall to comply with BPM6.
In 2014, the revised ITIS questionnaire was dispatched to all annual respondents collecting data
for the survey year of 2013.
Timeliness and punctuality
(Timeliness refers to the lapse of time between publication and the period to which the data refer.
Punctuality refers to the gap between planned and actual publication dates.)
7
The ITIS Publication is published annually. This covers the reference period from the 1 January to
31 December. The latest publication was released on 30 January 2014 (13 months after the
reference period) and includes results for 2013 calendar year.
16
For more details on ITIS releases, the UK National Statistics Publication Hub is available online
and provides 13 months advance notice of release dates. In the unlikely event of a change to the
pre-announced release schedule, public attention would be drawn to the change and the reasons for
the change would be explained fully at the same time, as set out in the Code of Practice for Official
17
Statistics .
The ITIS survey consistently meets publication deadlines, with a 100% record of on-time releases.
3
How the output is created
The process for creating the outputs for the ITIS survey is detailed below in the following table:
Sample frame
There are two sampling frames used by ITIS. These are:
Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) - the IDBR covers businesses in
all parts of the economy, except those that are not registered for Value Added
Tax (VAT) or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) which can include very small businesses,
the self employed, those without employees and those with a low turnover. The
IDBR contains over 2 million UK businesses and is updated in real time from
administrative data received from HM Customs and Excise. The IDBR is used by
other government departments and is the main sampling frame for business
surveys.
Sample design
Reference list - the reference list is made up of approximately 5,000 businesses
which have been identified as businesses known to conduct trade in services.
These businesses are classified on the reference list as either known traders or
potential knowns. Businesses are identified through returns they have made on
ONS business surveys such as Annual ITIS and on feeder questions on other
ONS surveys that is, ABS.
The ITIS sample is stratified by SIC 2007 at four digit level and employment.
The nature of the ITIS survey means that sampling from the IDBR can be
inefficient, as an overwhelming proportion of businesses would have nil returns
because no trade in services was conducted. To address this, part of the solution
has been to include filter questions on other large domestic business surveys
such as the ABS. Currently, two questions are present on ABS questionnaires
which specifically relate to ITIS and collect total amounts paid or received for the
provision or receipt of service imports or exports.
The ITIS samples are very fluid. Businesses can move between the annual and
quarterly sample and vice versa depending on the level of their returns. This is
outlined below:
•Annual business
Survey
•collects only total
imports and exports
figures
Businesses identified
with large ITIS figures
will be sampled by
annual ITIS
Businesses
consistently
reporting large ITIS
values will be
promoted to the
quarterly panel
•Annual ITIS Survey
•collects full range of
service products on
an annual basis
•Quarterly ITIS survey
•collects full range of
service products on
an quarterly basis
Businesses who experience a
significant drop in ITIS can
move back to the annual
panel or out of scope of ITIS
alltogether
This is also supplemented by other known indicators of trade in service activity
which include:


sampling from the IDBR for industries where trade in services is common,
these are known as high propensity industries; and
known large respondents.
4
Sample size
The sample size
18
for both annual and quarterly ITIS is as follows.
Annual - approximately 14,500 businesses.
Quarterly - approximately 1,100 businesses.
The quarterly and annual samples are mutually exclusive so that no businesses
would be sampled for both surveys for the same reference period.
Sample
exclusions
NB: The annual ITIS publication incorporates the quarterly sample and also
combines the data collected via the ABS. In total, annual ITIS results are based on
data from approximately 24,000 UK businesses.
ITIS sample businesses from a large proportion of the UK economy, however
there, are a number of notable exceptions. ITIS excludes businesses which fall
within the following sectors of the economy:







Data collection
travel;
transport;
banking;
other financial institutions;
higher education;
charities; and
a large proportion of businesses within the legal profession.
Business within these sectors are excluded to avoid duplication in national
accounts outputs. Data are sourced for these sectors from alternative means such
as other ONS surveys or by use of administrative data.
ITIS data are collected using paper questionnaires with manual input of data onto
the system.
In order to improve the efficiency of the survey operations and reduce the burden
on respondents, Telephone Data Entry (TDE) is now being used for annual
respondents to register a nil response.
Response
Data relating to the import/export of goods are excluded from this survey as they
19
are already collected in the estimates for Trade in Goods . However,
merchanting, earnings from arranging the sale of goods between two countries
outside the UK and where the goods never physically enter the UK, are included
along with earnings from commodity trading. As with merchanting, the service
element is calculated as the businesses profit minus the loss.
Written reminders are issued to non-responders which are subsequently followed
by telephone reminders in order to try and minimise non-response and any
associated non-response bias.
10
The ITIS survey is covered under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 meaning legal
action can be taken against persistent non-responders, though ONS prefers to
work together with businesses to produce the necessary information.
Response rates are analysed on a weekly basis. The number of questionnaires
received and cleared after validation are documented.
Validation
Data clearance
Outliers
Response rate targets are 85% for both annual and quarterly ITIS.
Returned information is run through a series of checks to identify errors. These
checks ensure that:
1. responses to individual questions are consistent within the questionnaire as a
whole, that is, totals equate to the sum of the parts; and
2. the return is consistent with historical data from the business.
Data clearance is the point at which data become error free. The target clearance
rates for both annual and quarterly ITIS are 98% of the achieved response
by the agreed close down date.
The method of outlier detection and treatment is based on the principle of
Winsorisation. The aim is to identify the sample observations which are felt not to
be representative of unsampled companies. Outliered values are identified and
modified prior to estimation using one-sided Winsorisation (since there are no
negative values given as part of ITIS).
5
Imputation
Imputation takes place when sampled respondents do not respond. Two methods
of imputation are used by ITIS.
Ratio imputation - this method is used where historical data for a non-responder
are present. Data are taken from the previous corresponding periods and up-rated
by the average growth within the same cell.
Estimation
Disclosure
Means of ratio - this method is used for non-responders where no historical data
are present. An imputed value is calculated by averaging returns from within the
same cell as the non-responder.
For the annual survey, Horvitz-Thompson estimation is used to produce estimates
for the entire population from sampled data. Estimates are produced separately
for each industry by employment stratum and aggregated to produce high level
estimates.
The exception is the data obtained from the ABS. Estimation is performed by
multiplying design weighted responses by the imputation weight and aggregating
to the appropriate level.
Statistical disclosure control methodology is applied to ITIS survey data. This
ensures that information attributable to an individual or individual organisation is
not identifiable in any published outputs. The Code of Practice for Official
17
Statistics and specifically the Principle on Confidentiality set out practices for
how we protect data from being disclosed. The Principle includes the statement
that ONS outputs should ‘ensure that official statistics do not reveal the identity of
an individual or organisation or any private information relating to them, taking into
account other relevant sources of information’. More information can be found in
20
National Statistician’s Guidance: Confidentiality of Official Statistics and also on
21
the Statistical Disclosure Control Methodology page of the ONS website.
Annual ITIS processing
Cycle based on
2013 as the reference
Period
ITIS
Statistical
Bulletin
published
January
2015
Benchmark
quarterly data
using 2013
estimates
November
2014
Deliver final
results
November
2014
Selection
September/
October
2013
Annual
time
cycle
Close for
final results
September/
October
2014
Despatch
forms
January
2014
Close for
Provisional
results
April 2014
Deliver
Provisional
Results
June 2014
6
Validation and quality assurance
Accuracy
(The degree of closeness between an estimate and the true value.)
Sampling error
Sampling error is the error caused by observing a sample instead of the whole population. While
each sample is designed to produce the ‘unbiased’ estimate of the true population value, a number
of equal sized samples covering the population would generally produce varying population
estimates. Sample surveys are employed rather than censuses in order to balance the burden on
businesses and cost of collection, processing and quality, against the relative accuracy of an
estimate instead of a population value. Standard errors are an estimate of the sampling error and
provide a measure of the precision of the estimate. A low standard error indicates a precise
estimate. To aid comparison, the standard error is also expressed as a percentage of the total value.
This quantity is called the coefficient of variation and it allows the standard errors to be put into
context. A high coefficient of variation indicates a greater relative variation between the true
population value and the estimated value from the sample.
Non-sampling error
In addition to sampling errors, there is the potential for non-sampling error that cannot be easily
quantified. One potential source of non-sampling error is non-response, which relates to the failure
to obtain data from some businesses selected in the sample. Another source of non-sampling error
may be undetected deficiencies that may occur in the survey register and errors or inconsistencies
may be submitted by the respondent when completing the survey questionnaires.
The ITIS response rates and estimated standard errors are available in Appendix A of the ITIS
7
22
Publication and further information can be found within the Office for National Statistics .
Coherence and comparability
(Coherence is the degree to which data that are derived from different sources or methods, but refer
to the same topic, are similar. Comparability is the degree to which data can be compared over time
and domain for example, geographic level.)
Coherence
The ITIS survey is the only source of UK trade in services microdata, and as a result, ITIS data are an
invaluable source for customers using these key economic indicators. ABS does have a filter question
regarding imports or exports of services which was solely created to increase coverage of the ITIS
survey. ABS only collect total trade in services, no breakdown by product or country is recorded.
Comparability
2
9
The ITIS survey is designed in accordance with Eurostat regulations (European Commission
(No.12461/03)) to ensure comparability across EU member states in the compilation of these
Statistics.
ITIS2 results appear in various ONS publications such as the Balance of Payments (BoP) and Pink
book. The data contained within the BoP and Pink book publications represent the economy as a
whole. Industries specifically excluded by ITIS that is, travel, transport and banking are included by
the Trade in Services branch ensuring full coverage of Trade in Services data within the services
account and can also be found in the UK Trade publication.
In 2011, work began to implement recommendations made in the latest Balance of Payments
15
manual 6 (BPM6) which in respect of ITIS resulted in the questionnaire being thoroughly reviewed.
New questions were added, increasing the total number to 52, and the descriptions surrounding all
questions were reviewed. In some instances, the descriptions were enhanced to make it clearer to
respondents what should be reported. The most notable change to the questionnaire was the
rebranding of the ‘Royalties and Licenses’ section to ‘Intellectual Property’ which increased from four
questions to six. Collecting the data according to the new regulations also meant a new production
system was required. A full review carried out by ITIS specialists of all ITIS methods and their
recommendations formed the basis for the new platform.
7
Concepts and definitions
(Concepts and definitions describe the legislation governing the output, and a description of the
classifications used in the output.)
10
The ITIS survey is mandatory and is collected under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 . Detailed
14
SIC 2007 is available on the ONS website. Data is collected in accordance with the latest edition
6
of the Balance of Payments (BPM6) manual .
Other information
Assessment of user needs and perceptions
(The processes for finding out about uses and users, and their views on the statistical products.)
Data from the ITIS survey are used by a wide range of users. The key users are:
13
Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) ;
25
British Film Institute (BFI) ;
11
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills .
The Scottish Government
12
The UK Statistics Authority has reviewed this output in their report: Assessment of compliance with
26
the Code of Practice for Official Statistics: Statistics of International Transactions , which was
published on 8 December 2011. This review recommended that ITIS estimates be designated as
National Statistics on 3 May 2013.
Sources for further information or advice
Accessibility and clarity
(Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in
which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality
and sufficiency of the release details, illustrations and accompanying advice.)
The annual survey data are published in the publication entitled International Trade in Services
22
which is freely available from the Office for National Statistics .
3
Each publication includes a Basic Quality information section which is included in Appendix A, to
7
enable users to further understand the complexities of the ITIS survey.
ONS's recommended format for accessible content is a combination of HTML web pages for
narrative, charts and graphs, with data being provided in usable formats such as CSV and Excel.
The ONS website also offers users the option to download the narrative in PDF format. In some
instances other software may be used, or may be available on request. Available formats for content
published on the ONS website but not produced by the ONS, or referenced on the ONS website but
stored elsewhere, may vary. For further information please refer to the contact details at the
beginning of this document.
For information regarding conditions of access to data, please refer to the links below:




27
Terms and conditions (for data on the website) ;
28
Copyright and reuse of published data ;
29
Pre-release access (including conditions of access) ;
30
Accessibility .
1
Further queries can be addressed to the ITIS public enquiry team by email to: [email protected] .
Useful links




4
Balance of Payments and National Accounts .
9
The European System of Accounts (ESA(95)) .
4
Balance of Payments 2004 Pink Book .
31
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) .
8
References
Title of Reference
1. ITIS Public Enquiry Team
2. International Trade in
Services
3. Annual Business Survey
4. UK Balance of Payments
5. Guidelines for Measuring
Statistical Quality
6. Gross Domestic Product
7. ITIS Publications
8. International Monetary
Fund
9. The Statistical Office of the
European Communities
10. Statistics of Trade Act 1947
11. The Department of
Business, Innovation and
Skills
12. The Scottish Government
13. Department of Culture
Media and Sport
14. Standard Industrial
Classification 2007
15. Balance of Payments
manual 6
16. UK National Statistics
Publication Hub
17. Code of Practice for Official
Statistics
18. ITIS Sample Sizes
19. Trade in Goods
20. National Statistician’s
Guidance: Confidentiality of
Official Statistics
21. Statistical Disclosure
Control Methodology
22. Office for National Statistics
23. National Accounts
24. Supply Use Group
25. British Film Institute (BFI)
26. Assessment of compliance
with the Code of Practice
for Official Statistics
27. Terms and conditions (for
data on the website)
28. Copyright and reuse of
published data
Website Location
[email protected]
http://ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/methodquality/specific/economy/international-trade-inservices/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/methodquality/specific/business-and-energy/annual-businesssurvey/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Balance
+of+Payments
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/methodquality/quality/guidelines-for-measuring-statisticalquality/index.html
http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1950_201
0UKb_11s1li011lcn__UK_Gross_Domestic_Product
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Internati
onal+Trade+in+Services
http://www.imf.org/
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/39
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-forbusiness-innovation-skills
http://home.scotland.gov.uk/home
http://www.culture.gov.uk/
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guidemethod/classifications/current-standardclassifications/standard-industrial-classification/index.html
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/bop/2007/bopman6.htm
http://www.statistics.gov.uk
http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-ofpractice/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/taking-partin-a-survey/information-for-businesses/a-to-z-of-businesssurveys/annual-survey-of-international-trade-inservices/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=Trad
e+in+Goods
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?pageSize=50&n
ewquery=National+Statistician%E2%80%99s+Guidance%3A+
Confidentiality+of+Official+Statistics
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/bestpractice/disclosure-control-policy-for-tables/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=National
+Accounts
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Supply+
and+Use+Tables
http://www.bfi.org.uk/
http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/assessment/
assessment-reports/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/site-information/information/termsand-conditions/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/siteinformation/information/creative-commons-license/index.html
9
29. Pre-release
access(including conditions
of access)
30. Accessibility
31. Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and
Development
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/the-nationalstatistics-standard/code-of-practice/pre-releaseaccess/index.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/siteinformation/information/accessibility/index.html
http://www.oecd.org/
10