You asked
Would it be possible to get a breakdown of COVID cases by occupation? I specifically am interested in comparing social workers to other professions- data as recent as possible would be best. From searching the site, all I can find are figures on deaths.
We said
Thank you for your request.
The following is all the analysis we currently hold regarding COVID-19 infection rates by occupation:
By occupation and work location in our July article
Work location and patient facing roles in our August article
Patient facing roles by age in our September article
Antibodies by occupation and patient facing roles in our November article
Teachers, key workers and other professions in our November 06 bulletin
Ethnicity by region and occupation in our December article
A sample of school staff were tested as part of our School Infection Survey (SIS), the results of which are available via the following link for Round 1: School Infection Survey
We will be publishing updated occupation analysis with the latest data in one of our subsequent articles. As such, this analysis is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.