Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to adopt the 18-plus-one ethnic data recording system used in the census across all education (a) services and (b) providers.

The Department follows the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and Government Statistical Service harmonised standards for collecting and/or presenting statistics. Detail on these codes and information on how the codes were chosen is available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/style-guide/ethnic-groups.

The ONS lead cross government work to harmonise data, including on ethnicity. The Department continues to be part of that work and will look to introduce any recommendations. Information on harmonisation of data is available at: https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/gss-harmonisation-team-workplan/#ethnicity.

The Department publishes the data code sets that are accepted in data that must be returned to the Department as part of the Common Basic Data Set (CBDS). This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-basic-data-set-cbds-database.

The CBDS is used by developers of school management information systems and incorporated into their products. The CBDS lists what are now the 19-plus-one ethnic code sets along with a more granular list of options. These options allow data subjects to select an ethnicity that most closely matches their ethnicity. Guidance instructs schools and Local Authorities that they should not ascribe ethnicity to an individual. Instead, it must come from the parent, guardian, or person themselves.