Freud: New open data good for transparency and business
A new way of accessing Department for Work and Pensions statistics was launched giving greater access to official Housing Benefit figures.
A new way of accessing Department for Work and Pensions statistics was launched today giving far greater access to official Housing Benefit figures, Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud announced.
The DWP Stat-Xplore website will provide statistics that are much clearer and easier to navigate - and it will allow users to explore many millions of data cells on Housing Benefit claimant numbers.
The new site also lets users download tables and graphs, embed them into their own websites, and share statistics across social networks.
Lord Freud said:
Making data more open and accessible is not only about increasing Government accountability, it is about helping British business find opportunities for economic growth and investment
The new website ensures more data are available and, importantly, that information is easy to navigate, interact with, and download, so people can get to grips with the statistics much more freely.
The DWP Stat-Xplore website is available from here: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
The site allows greater comparison of official claims data by date, local authority, Parliamentary constituencies or regions and claim type.
In coming months the website will be expanded to cover further benefits, eventually including Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments, and allow users to create their own bespoke sets of data.
The user interface lets people switch far more easily between different data groups, graphs and tables, as well as providing access to the source of materials.
Notes to Editors:
The launch of Stat-Xplore is part of the DWP commitment to Open Data and Transparency. Further information is available here: www.dwp.gov.uk/about-dwp/what-we-do/transparency/
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