Users register with CIPFAstats so that when you log in, we can provide access to the correct titles according to your subscription. To register please clickhere. If you are having any difficulty with the registration process please read this guide:How to register with CIPFAstats.

Yes, if you have registered with one IPF website, you can use the same details to log in to any of the others. However, you will only have access according to the subscription arrangement you have with that service.

Just click on Login/Register in the top right hand corner of the screen, and click on ‘Forgotten Password’ when the login box appears. You will be asked to enter your email address and provide the answer to your security question. Your password will then be emailed to you. If you have forgotten the answer to your security question please email sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

If you contact us for assistance your security question allows us to verify that you are a registered user. You should choose something that no-one else knows the answer to, and something you can easily remember.

No, each member of your organisation must register separately.

Go to My Profile at the top of the page and follow the instructions. On this page you can also change your email address and other contact details.

You can sign up or change preferences for any of the CIPFAstats alerts by clickinghere.

If you have registered successfully and received your password, but you are unable to login, try the following:

• check that you are entering the correct email address and password with no mistakes (extra spaces, hyphens, letters, "Caps Lock" or "Num Lock" keys accidentally pressed etc)
• do not rely on auto-complete in your browser as this may be using the incorrect details
• make sure that you are logging in with the email address that you registered with, and the password you were sent (or your new password if you have changed it)
• copy and paste the username and password from the original email into the login boxes

If you still experience difficulties, please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

If you tick the ‘remember me on this computer’ option when you log in, you will remain logged in unless you click on Log Off, or do not visit the website for 30 days.

Yes, your subscription allows you to log in from any computer with internet access. However, you must be sure to use your organisation email and password to login as any personal registrations using a private email address will not have the same access privileges. For example joe.bloggs@barchester.gov.uk and not joe.bloggs@hotmail.com.

You can change your name, address, email address and password by clicking on My Profile. Be aware that your access may change if you move to another organisation.

To check which titles you currently subscribe to please clickhere. If you require any further information or you wish to subscribe please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

You will only be able to access CIPFAstats if you or your organisation has a subscription. To check whether your organisation subscribes, please clickhere or contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

Everyone in your organisation with access to the internet can access CIPFAstats, but they must each register individually first. To register please clickhere.

You can only access the statistical commentaries of titles that you do not subscribe to. Please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk if you wish to purchase a separate subscription to a single title or if you wish to upgrade your package.

It may be that you have logged on with details which the system does not recognise. Make sure you are logging in using your work email address, and not your personal one. Also, check with your organisation that they have not recently changed their subscription package.

Again, it may be that you have logged on with details which the system does not recognise. Make sure you are logging in using your work email address, and not your personal one. Also, check with your organisation that they have not recently changed their subscription package.

Subscription prices vary depending on how many titles you require access to and your type of organisation. For further information please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

As an existing subscriber, we will send a renewal notice to the nominated contact within your organisation at least 30 days prior to the end of the subscription year. The subscription year runs from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

Use thesearch facility to search for any term across the whole of the CIFPAstats website. Click on "show advanced options" if you wish to tailor your search to a particular publication.

The titles on our website are divided into distinct topics or sections, with each topic holding a number of titles within it. The topics can all be seen in the site directory at the bottom right of the CIPFAstats homepage and are as follows:

• General Finance - covering titles such as Finance and General and Local Authority Assets
• Education - for Education Estimates and Education Actuals
• Environmental Services - covering titles such as Cemeteries and Trading Standards
• Housing - covering titles such as Homelessness and Housing Revenue Account
• Leisure and Culture - covering titles such as Culture, Sport and Recreation and Public Libraries
• Personnel - for Local Authority Workforce Statistics
• Planning - for Planning and Development
• Public Protection - covering titles such as Administration of Justice and Fire and Rescue Service
• Social Services - for Personal Social Services Actuals
• Transport - for Highways and Transportation Actuals and Highways and Transportation Estimates

From these pages you can then click on the appropriate link (near the top left) to go to the homepage for the title you are interested in.

This depends on whether you are a subscriber or a non-subscriber, but in general our titles are available in two formats: Adobe PDF documents and Microsoft XLS spreadsheets.

• Non-subscribers can access a copy of the PDF file which includes only the statistical commentary and summary tables
• Subscribers can access both the PDF file and the XLS file. The PDF file includes the statistical commentary and full data tables in an easy to print format, whereas the XLS file includes only the data tables but in an easy to manipulate format

In some cases only one of the two file formats will be available, this does vary by publication and by year. Additionally, advanced data releases are done solely in XLS format due to the time required to compile and check the statistical commentary. This means internet subscribers get earliest access to our published data.

Yes, this does depend on title, but in general there will be between 5 and 10 years of data available to download in both PDF and XLS file formats. We have paper copies of titles going back further than this in most cases, if you require any of this older data please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

The CIPFA Nearest Neighbours Model attempts to adopt a scientific approach to measuring the similarity between authorities, taking into account their social and physical characteristics, traditions, organisation and practices. The model uses a number of different indicators to compute a statistical distance between 0 and 1, and then returns a list of your nearest neighbours. To use the freely available model please clickhere.

There are 2 main types of statistical profiling services that we currently offer. These are theinteractive statistical reports and thestatistical profiles. Each service has its own uses depending on what data you wish to analyse.

The interactive statistical reports can be used to analyse any single indicator from one of our current titles. The report returns a 5 year trend for the indicator, along with group average, median and quartile information. You can also use the reports to analyse the quotient of 2 indicators, for example to retrieve an expenditure per population figure.

No, if you have an internet subscription for the title then the reports are free to use. For those users who do not have an internet subscription a limited amount of data can be analysed using the freely availablecore data report. This report covers a dozen indicators from a selection of our titles and is designed to show you how these reports work in general.

The statistical profiles do not simply provide data on a single indicator, but on a selection of the most important indicators from the title. The indicators are chosen by the working party and the data analyst and are regularly reviewed for each profile. Typically the indicators will cover expenditure and associated activity.

Each profile allows you to be compared against a selected group of authorities of your own choosing, or a top 20 generated by ournearest neighbours model. These profiles are updated yearly upon publication release.

Each statistical profile costs £100 + VAT. For this you will receive both a paper copy of the profile and a PDF copy by email. For a full list of all the currently available profiles please clickhere. For information on the indicators that are currently included in each profile please contact us on 020 8667 1144 or by email at sisinfo@ipf.co.uk.

To find about current vacancies please go to the working party homepagehere.

Yes, membership of a working party is accepted as evidence of CPD in CIPFA’s scheme and those of many external bodies. The CIPFAstats team is happy to supply evidence in the form of a letter if required.

Yes, we have a number of other help guides that can be accessed here:

• How to use the interactive statistical reports
• How to download a questionnaire
• How to download draft statistics