Things to noteFeedback sought: Proposed changes to Welsh Government statistics outputsThe Welsh Government are seeking views on proposed changes to Welsh Government statistical outputs, including health statistics. These changes aim to ensure their statistics remain relevant, accessible, and meet user needs. Your feedback will help shape decisions on what is published and how information is presented. Welsh Government want to understand what works well for you, what could be improved, and any gaps you’ve identified. Please read the consultation document and share your views by 11 February 2026. Consultation for new Mental Health and Learning Disabilities and Autism DashboardNHS England are retiring the quarterly Mental Health Dashboard. The Q1 2025-26 dashboard, published on 13 November, was the final edition in its current form. Signposting to published data will be available for Q2 to Q4 2025-26 reporting. NHS England aim to publish the new version, the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities and Autism (MHLDA) Overview Dashboard, from Q1 2026-27 reporting (September 2026). The new dashboard will be published on a quarterly basis, providing a high-level overview against current national priorities. NHS England are seeking user feedback about what is important to include in this overview dashboard which will support, but not replace, other mental health dashboards. Please complete the consultation by Sunday 14 December. Feedback will inform a list of proposed metrics for the new MHLDA Overview Dashboard, which will be taken to the national Mental Health and Learning Disabilities and Autism leadership for approval in early 2026. Further refinement of the metrics may follow, with the aim to launch the first edition in September 2026. If you have any questions, please contact england.mhinfrastructure@nhs.net Have your say on Census 2031 topics and ethnicity dataThe ONS has launched the , and invite responses on how you use census data, and your requirements for topic data from Census 2031. Their recent blog, , provides more detail on the consultation. You can also watch a recording of their recent explanatory webinar and access the PowerPoint slides on The Government Statistical Service (GSS) has also launched a consultation, asking for views on additional tick-box response options for ethnicity data. Responses will feed into a new standard for ethnicity data collection, which will be recommended for use by collectors of ethnicity data across the GSS. Both consultations are open until 4 February 2026, and you can respond in English or in Welsh. Mortality statistics webinarOn Thursday 11 December, the Health Statistics Users Group (HSUG) and the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) Official Statistics Section will be hosting a webinar to discuss mortality statistics. Speakers from the ONS, the National Records of Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency will give an overview of the breadth and scope of the mortality data their organisations publish. The webinar will address the comparability of the data across the four nations, as well as steps being taken to improve coherence. You can register for this webinar on the RSS website. Please note, there is a registration fee of £10 to attend. The webinar is free to RSS Fellows, e-student members, and a limited number of free places are available to the HSUG community. If you would like to apply to HSUG for a free place, please email info@hsug.org.uk. Increased metrics in Mental Health Act DataNHS England have reviewed and increased the suite of metrics available to users of the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) publications to help with monitoring of the Mental Health Act. Along with the latest publication of the Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures, 2024-25, NHS England now offer additional metrics within the MHSDS monthly publication, which allows for more granular reporting of different sections of the Mental Health Act. The Mental Health Act Time Series dashboard has also been updated to now include both annual and monthly data, allowing more timely reporting of the Mental Health Act within year and also on an annual basis. Further work is also planned to offer more reporting of inequalities. | 
