Members
Secretariat
Presenters
ONS colleagues
1. Welcome and opening remarks
This item welcomed participants to the first Advisory Panel on National Accounts (APoNA) meeting. The Chair emphasised the importance of APoNA as a new advisory group supporting UK National Accounts operation and development.
Panel recommendations
- Participants were encouraged to contribute openly, and it was agreed that minutes would be issued without attribution to support this. There will be an option to attribute opinions to specific members or the organisations they represent on request.
2. Terms of Reference review
This item set out APoNA’s role, remit and responsibilities, and provided an opportunity to review and validate the Terms of Reference. It covered how APoNA fits within the wider governance system for economic statistics and introduced related issues around governance, publication process, and membership.
2a. Terms of Reference – Validation and update
This sub‑item focused on formal review of the draft Terms of Reference, checking their accuracy and alignment with APoNA’s intended remit, and identifying amendments needed to support the panel’s work going forward.
Discussion and key themes
- APoNA’s remit was clarified as operational and implementation focused, distinct from conceptual governance which is provided by NSCASE.
- APoNA will cover the National Accounts in its entirety, including Sector and Financial Accounts, but recognising Public Sector Finances has its own advisory board.
- Although ‘Prices’ have their own advisory boards, it was agreed that Deflators used in the National Accounts are within the remit of APoNA.
- Members queried visibility of governance and how that spans other ONS advisory boards and governance frameworks. The Chair confirmed, as detailed in the ToR, that advisory panel chairs sit on NSCASE linking together the two governance forums.
Actions:
ONS Secretariat to update the ToR to reflect amendments raised in the meeting.
2b. Summary of governance relating to the National Accounts
This sub-item provided an overview of how APoNA fits into the broader National Accounts governance structure. Key distinctions between APoNA’s operational focus and the conceptual focus of NSCASE were set out, alongside consideration of risks and opportunities within that structure.
Discussion and key themes
- Clear distinctions were drawn between NSCASE and APoNA roles.
- Risks to effective governance included overlaps, timing/resource misalignment, and mixed messaging.
Panel recommendations
- ONS should formalise governance routing and escalation, and publish a simplified external governance delineation summary.
2c. Procedures for publication
This sub-item addressed how APoNA papers, minutes and associated outputs should be published, including appropriate timing, format and handling of sensitive content.
Panel recommendations
- Members represent their institutional perspectives and will occasionally need to consult other colleagues.
- Delegated attendance for institutions will be allowed at APoNA.
- Papers are not published and should not be shared externally. However, limited sharing is allowed for consultation with colleagues and delegation without seeking explicit agreement from APoNA secretariat.
Actions:
ONS Secretariat to continue issuing pre‑meeting papers at least five working days in advance of the meeting.
ONS Secretariat to ensure minutes are signed off by the chair and published on the UKSA website (APoNA page) within 3 weeks of the meeting.
2d. Expanding APoNA membership
This sub‑item explored whether the panel’s membership should be broadened or flexibly expanded to include topic‑specific expertise, ensuring the group remains well‑equipped to give informed advice on evolving subject areas.
Panel recommendations
- Allow co‑opted attendees for topic‑specific items.
- Review membership annually to reflect evolving priorities.
- APoNA members to reach out to appropriate contacts for potential membership of APoNA and signal interest to APoNA secretariat.
Actions:
ONS to seek further non-institutional representatives for the panel.
3. For information items
This item provided brief updates on ongoing work issues of general interest to APoNA members. This encompassed the scope of Blue and Pink Book 2026 and forthcoming international national accounts activity at the UN National Accounts Expert group. These items were for awareness only, with short papers provided.
Action:
ONS to provide readout from the UN expert group at the next APoNA meeting.
4. July Blue and Pink Books 2027+
This item discussed the proposal to move to a regular July publication cycle for the Blue Book and Pink Book. Previously July publication was normal, but this has been largely discontinued since the 2000’s, to allow time for significant methodological change required by Europe under the ESA2010 regulation. The item considered user needs, particularly around fiscal planning, alongside operational constraints and data‑quality implications of earlier publication.
Discussion and key themes
- Strong user demand exists for July publication for better decisions.
- Earlier release affects availability and/or quality of key data feeds – especially the Annual Business Survey and Wage Data.
- Quality, supply and use balancing pressures, and reputational risks were noted.
Panel recommendations
- The panel broadly supported the requirement to move to July publication for government fiscal planning. This recognises the difficulty of new data being released at the end of September, midway through the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting cycle for the Government Budget.
- The Chair highlighted that users (OBR in particular) must accept the quality trade-off associated with an earlier publication and inevitable likelihood of increased level of revision.
- ONS should communicate quality tradeoffs from earlier publication transparently.
- Although earlier publication would become the default, there could be legitimate reasons why a September publication is still needed. ONS to ensure the new policy considers the circumstances in which a later publication would be triggered.
5. Incorporation of the Annual Survey of Goods and Services (ASGS) data into National Accounts
This item examined the possibility of the integration of Annual Survey of Goods and Services (ASGS) data into National Accounts. Specifically, in the output measure of nominal GDP. This is planned to be implemented in the 2026 National Accounts data release (September 2026) after quality assurance is completed. ASGS is a major enhancement that fills a longstanding service‑sector data gap by improving product‑level detail used in supply‑use balancing.
Discussion and key themes
- ASGS significantly improves service‑sector product data.
- Issues using the survey data in National Accounts included understanding the volatility at a detailed level, back casting and treatment of margin products. These issues were extensively considered, and mitigations implemented during the internal methodology approval process.
- ASGS directly impacts nominal GDP compilation and has a secondary impact on real GDP through deflator weights.
- Full implementation into the 2026 National Accounts data release is planned but the detailed supply and use balancing process has yet to conclude. A final decision on implementation in the next Blue Book will be taken on 9th March 2026.
Panel recommendations
- The panel supported ASGS integration into UK National Accounts and recognised the significant amount of methodological and quality assurance work that has been conducted.
- ONS should continue to develop ASGS (or successor surveys) to better meet National Accounts needs.
- ONS should consider the impact of new data on Regional GDP estimates and communicate to users early.
- Since ASGS does not cover the financial industries, plans to improve data in those industries via an enhanced financial services survey should come to a future ApoNA for discussion.
- ONS should provide early communications on impacts to users and document exclusions and assumptions clearly in published material.
Action:
ONS Secretariat to add ‘Double Deflation’ and ‘Financial Services Survey development’ to backlog for discussion at a future ApoNA meeting.
6. Proposal to restart the Digital Economy Survey
This item focused on the need to restart the Digital Economy Survey to capture digital trade more effectively, including digitally ordered and delivered services and digital platform fees. It addressed the limitations of existing sources and the benefits of a redesigned survey instrument.
Discussion and key themes
- Considerable evidence gaps exist for digital trade.
- A redesigned survey would aim to reduce burden and improve quality since the previous incarnation was too long/detailed.
- Most other OECD countries now have a digital economy survey.
- Is a survey the best/only approach to effectively gathering data?
Panel recommendations
- The Panel agreed that a survey is currently the most suitable approach for collecting this information in the short to medium term. The long-term goal could be using administrative data from payment providers instead, or as an additional source.
- ONS should conduct cost-benefit analysis before implementation of the new survey.
- ONS should ensure effective cognitive testing of the new survey.
7. Use of Labour Force Survey data in household income estimates
This item explored the planned transition toward greater use of PAYE‑RTI data in estimating the income measure of GDP, alongside ongoing reliance on LFS. It outlined the benefits of more timely administrative data, as well as challenges linked to system development and data coherence.
Discussion and key themes
- Administrative‑led income estimates will enhance quality.
- Revision patterns in the RTI data remain a challenge.
Panel recommendations
- The panel thought RTI data should provide a better measure of income than continued reliance on LFS but highlighted the need to be sure that a conceptually correct version of compensation of employees can be derived from the RTI data.
- The panel considered it vital for ONS to continue RTI revisions analysis to better understand at what point RTI data stabilises.
- ONS to create a roadmap clarifying dependencies in development of the data source.
- ONS to publish a methods article describing the development work at an appropriate point.
Actions:
Once ONS revisions analysis work is completed, ONS to bring the results back to APoNA.
8. Standing items related to implementation of SNA25
This standing item will consider a broad range of topics related to implementation of SNA25 and associated standards, classifications, and methods.
8a. SNA25/BPM7 – Latest on planning
This sub-item reviewed the program for adopting the new international macro‑economic standards (IMSS), which includes major updates to frameworks (SNA and BPM) and classifications (SIC, CPA etc.). It covered the breadth of change, key dependencies, and the need for careful sequencing to deliver consistent adoption across the statistical system.
Discussion and key themes
- IMSS is a wide‑ranging program with significant system and data impacts.
- Dependencies include delivering the new Statistical Business Register (SBR) and survey modernisation. Effective delineation of the SBR change from other changes, for example SIC, is vital.
- The panel highlighted the huge scale of change and risk of overstretching senior management and technical resources. They were reassured by the planning approach and organisational oversight outlined.
Panel recommendations
- ONS to ensure the implementation of the new statistical business register (SBR) is distinct from the SIC/CPA changes in 2031.
- ONS to create a public IMSS progress dashboard.
- ONS to continue to provide cross‑GSS coordination and leadership for these developments.
- ONS Secretariat to retain IMSS updates as a regular standing item on APoNA agenda.
8b. Data as an asset
Due to overrun of earlier items it was agreed to hold this presentation at the next APoNA meeting.
Actions:
ONS Secretariat to add ‘Data as an Asset’ to the agenda for the next APoNA meeting
9. Close and any other business
This item formally closed the meeting. No additional business was raised. The Chair thanked participants for their contributions to a wide‑ranging and successful inaugural session. The date of the next APoNA meeting will be agreed between the Chair and ONS secretariat.