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Written question asked by Mike Wood (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026. It was answered by Satvir Kaur (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Office for National Statistics: Standards

Question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, following errors identified in the Labour Force Survey, whether the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) UK Statistics Authority made an assessment of the accuracy of Office for National Statistics statistics.

Answer

In April 2025 following concerns about the accuracy of the Labour Force Survey and other ONS statistics the UKSA Board and the Cabinet Office jointly commissioned Sir Robert Devereux to independently review the performance and culture of the ONS. His report was published in June 2025. On the same day the ONS published an ONS Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan. Subsequent updates were published in December 2025 and April 2026 and will continue to do so quarterly.

All of ONS’ statistics are assessed against the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR, which is part of the UK Statistics Authority). In 2025, the OSR published both an interim and final Systemic Review of Economic Statistics produced by ONS. The final report set out OSR’s expectations for further progress and its planned approach to the future regulation of ONS.

Attached is a letter from the Director General of OSR which sets out more information to part (b) of your question.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14864
Session
2026-27
Attachment
Letter from the Office for Statistics Regulation
Subjects
Standards Office for National Statistics Labour force survey
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk