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Written question asked by Wendy Morton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 July 2026. It was answered by Simon Lightwood (Labour) on Friday, 10 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Department for Transport: Statistics

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of reasons for (a) postponing and (b) cancelling planned statistical publications; whether Ministers have received advice identifying concerns regarding (i) data quality, (ii) methodology and (iii) digital systems; whether revised publication timetables have been agreed; and whether she will publish the internal assessments informing those decisions.

Answer

In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, the Department for Transport has robust procedures in place to lead the Production of Official Statistics under the direction and authority of the Head of Profession for Statistics.

As required by the Code of Practice principle 3 - ‘Be Transparent’ - all DfT statistics are pre-announced so that the public can have confidence in how and when the statistics are released. Any changes to pre-announced release dates are agreed with the Head of Profession for Statistics and promptly communicated to the public, with an explanation of the reasons.

Full details of any changes to DfT’s Official Statistics publication schedule can be found here: Department for Transport Forthcoming Publications - GOV.UK.

Ministers are informed of the forthcoming publication schedule in a monthly submission, which would advise them of any changes to the schedule. The same information is put into the public domain.

Ministers have received advice on changes to the publication schedule related to data quality, methodology and digital systems. As part of DfT’s ongoing work to ensure that Official Statistics remain relevant and representative of society, all of our series have comprehensive programmes of work to maintain quality, collaboration with data suppliers, improvement to methods, and innovation in approaches.

DfT publish appropriate associated background information on the factors being investigated and any resolutions to ensure the public can have confidence that the statistics are produced in robust ways and a fit for their intended purposes.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16447
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Disclosure of information Department for Transport Statistics
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk