The UK Statistics Authority has today published a report into the statistical treatment of changes to cash management arrangements between the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund (BEAPFF) and HM Treasury. The Statistics Authority endorses the report and has asked ONS to implement its findings.(1)

In February 2013, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced its decision that the cash flows from the Bank of England to HM Treasury, in respect of the BEAPFF holdings of excess cash, should be treated as permanent effects of a financial intervention. These cash flows would, therefore, reduce the headline measure of Public Sector Net Borrowing (‘PSNB ex’) which excludes the temporary effects of financial interventions. The announcement from ONS prompted concerns from some media commentators that the decision might not have been consistent with previously published principles and criteria for the production and publication of public sector finance official statistics.

The report is attached overleaf and is also available at the following link: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/reports—correspondence/reports/index.html.

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  1. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 established the UK Statistics Authority as an independent body at arm’s length from government with direct reporting to Parliament and the devolved legislatures, rather than through Ministers, and with the statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that “serve the public good”. The Authority’s functions relate to its statutory areas of responsibility which include oversight of the UK official statistics system and governance of the Office for National Statistics.