Economy
Economic statistics are central to monitoring, understanding and managing the economy, at both national and regional levels. The Economy theme covers statistics which measure different aspects of, and provide insight into, the UK economy and the economies of Devolved Administrations and UK regions.
Access to statistics that are accurate, reliable, relevant and timely is vital for policy makers. And such statistics are equally important for effective decision making in the private sector. Moreover, economic statistics provide a yardstick for assessing economic performance and are thus central to the ability of Parliaments, the media and the public at large to hold policy makers to account.
It is also crucial that information is available below the level of the aggregate economy. For instance, effective regional policies require information about economic activity at the level of the corresponding regional units.
In 2016, Sir Charles Bean in his independent review report into UK economic statistics said that the current economic statistics were showing their age having been designed over fifty years ago when the economy was dominated by goods not services. He called for greater scrutiny following his finding that many economic statistics are deficient.
Fulfilling the Bean review expectations, during 2019 among other work, we commenced a review of HMRC statistical quality management, published a review of the public value of devolved public finance statistics and assessed DCMS sector economic estimates and designated the statistics with the National Statistics designation.
Contact: Iain Russell
Correspondence
Response from Sir Robert Chote to Dame Angela Eagle MP – national debt
18 May 2023
Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority to Dame Angela Eagle MP, House of Commons
Letter from Dame Angela Eagle MP to Sir Robert Chote – national debt
28 April 2023
Dame Angela Eagle MP, House of Commons to Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority
Letter from Sir Robert Chote to Rachel Reeves MP – GDP growth chart
24 April 2023
Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority to Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, House of Commons
Response from Sir Robert Chote to Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP – statistics on the cost of living
6 April 2023
Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority to Pam Duncan-Glancy, Scottish Parliament
Response from Martin Weale to Ed Humpherson – Office for Statistics Regulation External Scrutiny Programme
14 March 2023
Publications
Advisory Panels on Consumer Prices – Annual report 2021 to 2022
6 July 2023
Published in:
Breach report – NISRA -Benefits Statistics
24 August 2021
Published in: Breach Report
Breach report – The Insolvency Service – Monthly Insolvency Statistics – June 2021
20 July 2021
Published in: Breach Report
Advisory Panels for Consumer Prices 2020 Annual Report
10 May 2021
Published in: Annual Report & Accounts
Breach Report – ONS – Consumer price inflation
27 April 2021
Published in: Breach Report
Breach Report – Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland) – Higher Level Apprenticeships
15 March 2021
Published in: Breach Report
Breach Report – HMRC – Tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK
4 March 2021
Published in: Breach Report
Breach Report – Office for National Statistics – The Blue Book
22 December 2020
Published in: Breach Report
Breach Report – ONS – Employee Earnings in the UK, COVID-19 Round up, Weekly Deaths 23rd October
3 November 2020
Published in: Breach Report
Pay in the Northern Ireland Civil Service 2019
18 March 2020
Published in: Breach Report
News & Events
Statement on the first year of NSCASE – Sir Ian Diamond
24 May 2023
Sir David Norgrove speaks at University College London: Covid and the Use and Abuse of Statistics
5 November 2021
Response to the joint consultation on reforming the methodology of the Retail Prices Index
25 November 2020
Consultation on changes to the Retail Prices Index
9 November 2020
Consultation on the future of the Retail Prices Index
16 April 2020
Joint consultation on the future of the RPI launched by UK Statistics Authority and HM Treasury
11 March 2020
UK Statistics Authority Statement on the future of the RPI
4 September 2019