Monitoring Review Progress Report –
Coherence and Accessibility of Official Income and Earnings Statistics
Today, the UK Statistics Authority has published a Progress Report on its Review of the Coherence and Accessibility of Official Statistics on Income and Earnings. The Review was first published in February 2015, followed by an event in July 2015 to convene a range of stakeholders to consider how official statistics on income and earnings can better serve the public good in the future.
This Progress Report highlights work carried out by producers of statistics in response to recommendations made by the UK Statistics Authority. The Report finds that while there have been some positive developments, progress against recommendations has generally been limited or moderate. In particular, progress against those recommendations that require collaborative working within and between government departments has been slow. The Authority therefore considers that more collaborative progress is required. The Authority will be asking the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs for a joint progress update in May 2016.
Ed Humpherson, the UK Statistics Authority’s Director General for Regulation, has also today written to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to make him aware of this Progress Report, expressing concern that progress has been disappointingly slow, and to welcome his support in improving the coherence and accessibility of these statistics.
The Authority will publish another Progress Report in early summer 2016. Due to the continued importance of income and earnings statistics, the Authority’s Director General for Regulation will also be considering whether any of the statistics included in the Review’s scope are candidates for re-assessment under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics as part of the 2016/17 Programme of Assessment.
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