Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

Danish law tells that the budgets for municipalities must be in balance. The revenue matching the expenditures for a given year ensures the balance for the municipalities. The revenue is determined by local government income taxes, where a municipality either can use local government income taxes guaranteed by the government or the so-called self-budgeting – i.e. the municipality guesses on the local government income taxes on their own. The total local government income taxes for all municipalities is then set against the financial agreement that KL has negotiated with the government. Afterwards, both KL and the Ministry of the Interior check and verify the numbers. Once the municipalities have gotten local government income taxes ‘approved’, it is not allowed to change the taxes.

Statistics Denmark receives the verified and controlled data directly from the Ministry of the Interior. The data are not revised.

Sampling error

Not relevant for these statistics.

Non-sampling error

Data is checked and validated by both KL and the Ministry of the Interior. The validation is conducted by for example comparing local government income taxes for each municipality with the financial agreement between KL and the government. Thus, non-sampling error is not problematic for this statistics.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

The quality of the statistic is estimated to be good. Statistics Denmark receives the data from Ministry of the Interior, which is based on the financial agreement between KL and the government. The statistics only publish finalized numbers, which are not revised. The statistics is published annually and is a part of the economic debate.

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

Only final figures are published.