Mixing principles and pragmatism in disclosure protection: balancing the needs of research and analysis with the concerns about disclosure risk generally seen with continuing official statistical surveys?

Access to official statistical surveys seems to be under continuous review,
with a long run tendancy for greater access being periodically reversed.
The presentation will draw on the very different experiences of both the UK
and New Zealand in managing disclosure protection, experiences elsewhere,
and attempts recently in developing an OECD repository. The talk will offer
some reflections on why common principles are applied in different ways, and
consider why influences on international convergence of disclosure
protection rarely extend disclosure practices. The talk will include
examples that highlight some of the dilemma faced by official statisticians,
and suggest broader based approaches to extend much needed access for
research, drawing on the richness of the UK history in this.