Accountability report

Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, HM Treasury has directed the Authority to prepare for each financial year resource accounts detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of during the year and the use of resources by the Authority during the year. 

The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Authority and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows for the financial year.  

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to: 

• observe the Accounts Direction issued by HM Treasury, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis; 
• make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis; 
• state whether applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts; 
• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis; 
• confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable. 

HM Treasury has appointed the National Statistician as Accounting Officer of the Authority. 

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the Authority’s assets, are set out in Managing Public Money published by the HM Treasury. 

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Authority’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. 

Governance statement

Responsibilities

My tenure as acting National Statistician and interim Principal Accounting Officer for the UK Statistics Authority (the Authority) began on 9 May 2025 following the resignation of the previous National Statistician, Professor Sir Ian Diamond. In drafting this Governance Statement, I have drawn on the conclusions reached by my predecessor, briefings that I have received on the effectiveness of the system of internal controls, and my experience as part of the senior executive for the whole of 2024/25. 

As Principal Accounting Officer, I have responsibility for maintaining effective governance and a sound system of internal control to support the achievement of the Authority’s policies, aims and objectives. As part of this role, I safeguard the public funds and assets for which I am personally responsible, in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to me. I confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts is fair, balanced and understandable and I take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgments required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable.

This Governance Statement supports the description of performance provided in Chapter 2 which summarises the Authority’s strategy and the progress made towards its delivery. It sets out the key challenges faced by the Authority, the issues which have arisen, the remaining risks, and the system of control to manage these risks. These include dealing with falling survey response rates while also transforming statistical production systems.  

For example, despite considerable efforts over 2024/25, real challenges remain with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following the quality concerns which resulted in the temporary suspension of LFS derived Labour Market Statistics from October 2023 to January 2024. Progress continues to be made in recovering the LFS, with the achieved sample now significantly higher and the incorporation of updated population information into the estimates completed. Work has also advanced on a strategic solution, the Transformed Labour Market Survey (TLFS). However, it will take more time to ensure that the quality necessary for users of labour market statistics can be achieved. 

In addition, the organisation has faced challenges with other core economic statistics: trade in goods, trade in services, producer prices and average earnings. These reflect both errors made by data suppliers, and in the methods applied by legacy statistical systems. There has been voluntary de-designation of National Statistics due to quality concerns. The Authority recognises that none of these issues are acceptable for users of its statistics. 

In line with commitments made by the Authority to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, the then Accounting Officer (Sir Ian Diamond) delegated responsibilities to Mr Ed Humpherson for the OSR budget, from 1 June 2020 (covering the reporting period 2024/25). The appointment was made at the discretion of the then Accounting Officer under the terms of Managing Public Money policy, whereby accounting officer responsibilities for defined parts of the department’s business can be delegated by the principal Accounting Officer. The position carries with it the responsibility for ensuring that resources approved by the UK Statistics Authority Board for the Office for Statistics Regulation are used for the purposes intended.

Compliance with the Corporate Governance Code

I have assessed the Authority’s compliance with the Corporate Governance in the Central Government Departments’ Code of Good Practice 2017. The code focuses on governance arrangements for ministerial departments and there are elements, such as ministerial chairmanship of the Board (Section 1.1), which are not directly relevant to the Authority due to its statutory framework and status as a non-ministerial department. However, in all other areas the Authority complies with the principles of the code. There are no other instances of non-compliance. 

Role of the Authority Board during 2024/25

The UK Statistics Authority Board (Authority Board) has the statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that ‘serve the public good’. In accordance with the 2007 Act, the Authority Board is comprised of a majority of non-executive directors (including a Chair) appointed through open competition, and three executive members, as set out in the table below.  

The post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority is a Crown appointment. Sir Robert Chote was appointed by the late Queen Elizabeth II following an open competition and subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and a formal debate on the floor of the House of Commons. Sir Robert took up his post on 1 June 2022 and his appointment is on a five-year term. In June 2025 Sir Robert Chote informed the Cabinet Office of his intention to step down as UKSA Chair in the autumn, to take up the role of President of Trinity College, Oxford. A campaign to appoint his successor will be launched within the next few weeks.  

Governance and Committees of the Authority Board during 2024/25

Sub-committees, which supported the Authority Board in its work and reported to it, met as follows during 2024/25. 

Topics covered by each committee

Authority Board

• Strategy and Business planning
• Strategic Risk Profile and Risk Appetite
• Integrated Data Service Programme
• Economic Statistics transformation (including the Labour Force Survey, Transformation of the Labour Force Survey and legacy transformation)
• Future of Population and Migration Statistics
• Independent Review of the Authority by Professor Denise Lievesley
• Government Statistical Service Vision
• General Election Planning
• Whistleblowing
• Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence
• Refresh of the UK Statistics System Authority Strategy
• UK Statistics Assembly
• Annual Review of Effectiveness.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

• Annual Report and Accounts
• Business planning
• Risk and Assurance (including risk management and assurance mapping)
• Internal Audit Programme 2024/25
• Internal Audit Action Tracking
• Internal Audit Draft Plan 2025/26
• Corporate Governance Assurance
• External Audit
• Finances
• Fraud
• Whistleblowing
• Data Protection
• Office for Statistics Regulation annual update
• Risk Deep Dives for Legacy Transformation, Strategic Resourcing and
  Statistical Quality
• Annual Review of Committee Effectiveness.

Regulation Committee

• Annual Business Plan
• State of the Statistical System Report
• Annual Review of Casework
• Annual Report
• Sex and Gender Identity
• Regulation of transformation including Transformation of the Labour Force Survey
• Economic Statistics
• Census Assessments
• Data Sharing and Linkage
• Intelligent Transparency
• Health Inequalities
• Comparability
• Code of Practice for Statistics Review
• Population Statistics
• General Election Interventions
• Police Recorded Crime
• Adult Social Care Workforce Statistics
• Annual Review of Committee Effectiveness

Remuneration Committee

• Senior Civil Service performance moderation (base pay and non-consolidated performance related award).

Attendance at the Authority Board and its sub-committees

Board Effectiveness Review

This year’s board effectiveness review was overseen by the Chair of the Authority Board. A survey was undertaken that sought members’ views on: 

• processes for agreeing business plans 
• adequacy of information provided to the Board, to allow it to monitor performance and progress 
• board composition and culture 
• support for members 
• areas of focus for the coming year 

The outcome of the survey was discussed at the board meeting in July 2024. 

The responses indicated sustained performance by the Board with the Chair continuing to provide an open and supportive culture to allow an inclusive environment for discussion. The Board considered important strategic issues focusing on the delivery of the Strategy, Statistics for the Public Good. Board members noted that transparency of reporting and early warnings could be improved, and action is already being taken on this. The skills gaps on the Board at the time in relation to strategic communications and audit experience was noted. This was a result of a delay to the recruitment campaign, due to the General Election, following the departure of Non-Executive Directors. Members indicated, through the survey at the time, that in the coming year areas of focus should include statistical outputs, taking forward the recommendations from the Lievesley review and the transformation of the Labour Force Survey. 

Assurance over the quality of information

The Authority Board recognised the need to ensure it receives sound advice and information to enable informed decisions to be made. The Secretariat works with teams to ensure the information provided is of a good quality, with a template used for committee papers, structured to ensure risks and resource implications are highlighted and to ensure sufficient engagement and challenge during discussions. 

The structure and information contained in regular agenda items are reviewed annually as part of the board effectiveness review. An Integrated Performance and Finance Report is provided to the Authority Board in each meeting to aid decision making and the Strategic Risk framework has been discussed throughout 2024/25. Overall, the Authority Board has been content with the quality of the data it has been provided with during the year. 

Executive Committees during 2024/25

The former National Statistician, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, chaired the Executive Committee and the National Statistics Executive Group (NSEG) during 2024/25. The role of the Executive Committee is to support the National Statistician in the exercise of their function as Chief Executive Officer, to set the strategic direction and achieve the collective mission and objectives of the Authority. 

The role of NSEG is to support the National Statistician in the exercise of their function as the Head of the Government Statistics Service (GSS) and Analysis Function, to achieve the collective mission and strategic objectives of the official statistics system. NSEG met on three occasions and the Executive Committee met on 22 occasions during 2024/25. 

The role of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee is to support the Authority Board and Authority’s Accounting Officer in their responsibilities for risk management, control and governance. The Committee concentrates its assurance role on the extent of the risks to which the realisation of the Authority’s strategic aims and objectives is exposed. Regular reports are provided at each meeting to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in key areas including Finance, Risk and Assurance, Internal Audit and External Audit.

In May 2025 changes were made to the Authority’s’ executive governance structure to re-enforce the leadership by broadening the membership of the Executive Committee. To enable faster, clearer decision-making the executive governance structure was also simplified. All executive sub-committees were stood down and their responsibilities subsumed into the Executive Committee with the introduction of a more frequent weekly meeting to act as the central forum for all strategic decisions.  

Management of risk

2024/25 saw continued maturity in relation to the oversight, challenge and accountability of the Authority’s risk and assurance approach. Senior leaders took an active role in relation to risk management and assurance, as well as discussing the organisation’s appetite for risk. The UKSA Risk Management and Assurance framework has been established with the Orange Book key principles at its core. The approach to risk management in light of the wider organisational context will continue to evolve, noting in particular views expressed by the Head of Internal Audit.  

Risk management approach and strategic risk framework

The Risk and Assurance Framework provides a mechanism for the identification, analysis, and management of risk across the UKSA. It also assures that risks to the delivery of the Authority’s strategy are being managed within appetite. 

The Authority Board has ultimate accountability for risk management, with responsibility for agreeing the strategic risk profile and the associated risk appetite. Updates on the strategic risk profile are provided to the Board on a bi-annual basis.  

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) has responsibility for advising the Board on the effectiveness of governance, risk management and the system of internal control. Updates are provided to each ARAC on the evolving strategic risk profile, as well as other relevant risk and assurance activities. ARAC provides scrutiny over the management of the strategic risks to satisfy itself that major risks are identified, and that mitigation strategies and appropriate levels of assurance are in place.  

Executive accountability for risk management resides with the National Statistician (the Accounting Officer), with executive oversight residing with the Executive Committee (ExCo) and, during 2024/25, its sub-committees. Each strategic risk is owned by a member of the senior leadership team and in 2024/25 was overseen by a relevant ExCo sub-committee where in-depth analysis of each risk was scrutinised with a clear escalation route to ExCo to provide additional challenge and assurance. ExCo received regular updates on the strategic risk profile to ensure visibility and scrutiny of the full strategic risk landscape and its interlinkages, enabling ExCo to embed risk at the heart of decision making. Risk owners were accountable for providing their updates to the relevant sub committees with the Risk and Assurance team providing independent assessment of progress.

Changes to the executive governance structure implemented in May 2025 removed a tier from the 2024/25 governance hierarchy which will expedite the review of strategic risks by ExCo in future periods.  

The Authority operates the ‘Three Lines’ model to distinguish the different executive responsibilities for risk and assurance: 

1. First line: Business areas own the risks and are responsible for responding and managing those risks through executing internal controls on a day-to-day basis, for implementing corrective actions to address deficiencies and for assuring themselves that these activities are working. The first line function is undertaken by our Senior Civil Servants.
2. Second line: Internal functions monitor and facilitate the implementation of effective risk management practices and facilitate the reporting of adequate risk related information up and down the organisation, providing the policies, frameworks, tools, techniques, and support to enable risk and compliance to be managed in the first line. The second line function is undertaken through risk and assurance teams and monitored through the internal governance structure. 
3. Third line: Independent functions provide assurance to the Accounting Officer, ARAC and the Authority Board that risk management and controls are appropriate and effective through independently and objectively evaluating internal controls, risk management and governance processes. The third line function is primarily undertaken by Internal Audit and, for programmes on the Government Major Projects Portfolio, third line assurance is provided by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). 

Additional independent assurance is provided by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, which undertakes assessments of ONS statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. 

The Authority’s risk and assurance team has undertaken a review of the organisation’s risk management practices against the risk control framework set by government’s risk centre of excellence. The findings noted compliance with the five key principles (Governance and leadership; Integration; Collaboration and Information; Processes; Continuous Improvement), which is an improvement when compared with 2023/24.

In addition to the five key principles of the Orange Book, the Authority’s risk control framework now covers the pillars of Governance and Management, Roles and Accountabilities, Strategy, Planning and Reporting, Policies and Procedures and the Three Line Model. This is the first year the UKSA has assessed itself against these pillars and can report that all applicable pillars are also met. In undertaking this exercise, some areas for improvement were noted and an action plan of improvements has been put in place, including but not limited to reviewing the framework to ensure all elements of the risk control framework pillars are reflected, evaluating and seeking continuous improvement of organisational understanding of the risk framework, and keeping a more formal log of improvements made over the year in order to evidence the continued maturity and how  processes operate in practice.  

UK Statistics Authority strategic risks

The Authority’s strategic risk profile (Figure 1) demonstrates the most significant risks to the successful delivery of the Authority’s strategy and its statutory objectives. The profile is agreed by the Authority Board including the level of risk appetite associated with each risk on an annual basis, with reference to the UKSA Strategy, the ONS Business Plan and the external environment. All strategic risks were overseen, and their management assured during 2024/25 by ExCo and its sub-committees. Key areas of risk focus for 2024/25 included quality, technological resilience (with particular focus on legacy systems), people, as well as the independence, trustworthiness and impact strategic risk. This profile has been refreshed for 2025/26 as part of an annual review of the strategic risk profile but the figure below represents the strategic risks in place over 2024/25.

UK Statistics Authority strategic risks summary

Security management

The overall security of the Authority’s systems, particularly our key data management environment, the Data Access Platform (DAP), remains vitally important. Throughout 2024/25 focus was given to a major platform update, migrating DAP to a cloud-based platform, which provided greater resilience and security.  

As the Authority’s digital presence grows and data partnerships diversify, protecting data, regardless of location, is crucial. In this setting, people are an organisation’s strongest asset. The Authority has continued to cultivate a culture based on empowered people equipping colleagues with the knowledge and threat awareness to keep safe. Over the last year there has been a determined focus on communicating, educating and testing resilient behaviours. At the same time, security operations capability was expanded to provide a safety net in case something goes wrong.  

Security technology enhancement has also been a focus through 2024/25, with the migration of the Authority’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) to a new provider, which has provided improved coverage and capability in detecting and triaging security events. The implementation of a specialist Vulnerability Management team, providing intelligence to security and digital services specialists has strengthened the ability to proactively build and operate secure technologies. 

The Authority’s support to the Digital Economy Act continues through the security assessment of potential data processors under the Act and Code of Practice. Data security experts have assessed organisations for accreditation this year to ensure strong security controls are in place to host and process data, with the Research Accreditation Panel deciding on the formal accreditation. 

External assurance of data security has been secured through specialist bodies such as the Information Security Forum (ISF).  

Data

ONS has a diverse and complex data estate, with multiple routes of data entry and different usage within and across the organisation, and for different users, including external academic researchers. Key governance mechanisms include memoranda of understanding with data suppliers, regular audits, clear roles for information asset owners, and adherence to metadata standards for key data ingests. The Authority has a data strategy in place, largely for administrative and alternative data, aimed at enhancing data quality, accessibility, and usability across the organisation. 

However, a recent internal audit review of data governance (which is distinct from Data Protection, which is covered below) was rated as ‘Unsatisfactory’. The Authority acknowledges that there is no one common ontology across the organisation that classifies and coheres the complete ONS data estate. Also, a federated rather than cross-cutting, more centrally controlled, model of data acquisition and data ingress/ingests occurs across ONS, which has led to limited oversight in some key areas, without a clear view of how data quality is being improved throughout the data lifecycle. 

As a result, a data governance strategic review has been initiated, drawing on best practice in other National Statistics Institutes, other government departments, academic institutions, and the private sector with the aim of implementing a new data governance framework for the Authority. This new data governance framework will seek to clarify roles and responsibilities and make recommendations about the business change needed to bring more effective data governance to the Authority.   

Information management

Significant levels of confidential data are collected and acquired in the use of official statistics, and staff in some parts of the Authority have access to a range of business and personal data for statistical purposes. Information management and confidentiality therefore remain critical considerations for the Authority, and the recognised, strong cultural understanding that information must be handled lawfully, accurately and securely, supported by strong legal, technological, and business processes persists. 

Compliance with information legislation continues to be a core priority, and activities that support the management of documents and records throughout their lifecycle have been developed and matured. Technical enhancements have been made to the Information Asset Register to provide greater management information for Information Asset Owners to inform and support improved management of assets. This will further improve metadata collection, accuracy, and transparency to support the Authority’s use of data and the production of statistics and research.  

I am required to report any significant breaches relating to personal data to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). There have been no such incidents during 2024/25.

Information technology  

The organisation continues to face challenges in relation to its technical infrastructure including the movement away from technical debt. During the year a limited Internal Audit opinion was provided in relation to the organisation’s ‘Evergreen’ strategy (aimed at avoiding the technical debt of the future). Whilst this points to weaknesses in controls the findings of the review were welcomed as they enable us to develop more robust plans as we seek to avoid the ‘legacy issues’ of the future.

Advancements in technology through the use of automation and AI continue to evolve as do our plans for maximising their use. A further limited opinion in year has helped to highlight areas of focus on what is still an emerging yet vital future component of our plans to improve and streamline key processes.  

As an organisation we have adopted Reproducible Analytical Pipeline (RAP) methodologies across a wide range of our statistical outputs. Whilst a limited Internal Audit rating was given to this area of work in year, the review was focussed on tracking the benefits of implementation rather than the implementation processes themselves. Clearly the introduction of RAPs needs to demonstrate increased value and/or improved quality and thus future RAP plans will include a greater focus on outcomes achieved. 

Developments in the control environment

Maintaining and improving an effective system of internal controls and governance within the Authority remains a key priority. The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to an acceptable level and within an agreed risk appetite, rather than to eliminate all risk.  

A strong internal control environment facilitates the Authority’s effective and efficient operation. Additionally, an effective system of internal control helps us to ensure the quality of both internal and external reporting. It also serves to ensure compliance with applicable law and regulations, as well as internal policies. 

During 2024/25 the Authority has continued to improve its internal control environment, as follows: 

• A continued improvement in maturity and accountability for strategic risks including regular updates through governance forums.
• The continued maturity and evolution of the governance framework with a risk-based approach (alongside broader horizon scanning) supporting business planning. 
• Enhancements in controls following the delivery of additional targeted second line assurance reviews in the following areas: Quality risks; Data Quality Management; Ethnic minority experience; IT disaster recovery and procurement. 
• Enhancement in controls and assurance insight through the refreshed strategic risk profile and improved reporting to Executive Committee and the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee.  
• Continued improvements in our business planning process, placing risk at its core to support the Authority in balancing ambition and resource management with the funding available. 
• Quarterly sessions with Directors General covering finance, performance, people, risk and assurance within their areas.  
• Development of risk and assurance e-learning for all colleagues, and external formal training for risk and assurance leads, to bolster and mature skills in risk and assurance management across the organisation. 
• Assessment of compliance against government functional standards, showing continuous improvement across the organisation.  
• A reinvigorated and improved Corporate Governance Assurance Statement process increasing the level of insight and assurance from across all areas of the organisation and adherence to first line controls. 

The Authority’s annual corporate governance assurance statement was compiled from assurance sources covering all essential areas of internal control, including people; risk; governance; security; statistical quality; portfolio management; commercial and finance management. The self-assessment responses were reviewed for adequacy by subject matter experts and the outcomes of the exercise confirmed a broadly positive position of the control environment. Directors received a summary for their areas detailing positive outcomes and areas for improvement with suggested actions where applicable.

Further enhancements in the control environment will be a key area of focus for 2025/26, particularly in respect of quality and legacy technology to ensure we are managing our strategic risks within the risk appetite set out by the UKSA Board.  

Organisational Reviews

It has been a challenging period for the statistical system and the ONS specifically. The ONS has faced difficulties including those linked to the long-term trend of declining response rates for household surveys, financial resources remaining constrained, and barriers within government to data sharing limiting the exploitation of administrative data.

These, alongside other challenges and limitations, have been highlighted in recent external reviews such as the 2024 public sector body review by Professor Denise Lievesley, the report by Professor David Hand summarising the views of attendees at the inaugural UK Statistics Assembly 2025, and the Office for Statistics Regulation’s review of ONS economic statistics. The Authority welcomed the insights offered by these reviews, giving careful consideration over 2024/25 to any recommendations and regularly reporting progress to the Authority Board against those that are taken forward.

In March 2025 the Authority Board also jointly commissioned, with the Cabinet Office, Sir Robert Devereux to undertake a short but wide-ranging independent review of the performance and culture of the ONS. [] Sir Robert’s recommendations were published on 26th June 2025 alongside the joint response from The Authority and Cabinet Office who both accepted the findings and conclusions. The Authority fully acknowledges the issues highlighted in the review and is committed to implementing the recommendations starting with the publication of a plan for economic statistics, also on 26 June 2025, which aims to restore confidence and improve the quality of core statistics. 

In response to one of the Devereux review recommendations, The Cabinet Office launched an internal expression of interest for a new Permanent Secretary to lead the day-to-day operations of the ONS on 7 July 2025. The recruitment exercise is due to close on 21 July 2025. In parallel a public appointment process to recruit the next National Statistician has commenced.  

As a non-Ministerial department reporting to Parliament, the Authority also benefits from the challenge, scrutiny and support of Parliamentary select committees and their members. In particular, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee which is currently conducting an inquiry into the work of the Authority. This is likely to report in the Autumn. 

Cabinet Office Controls

The Authority is required to comply with the Cabinet Office spend controls framework, which is designed to help organisations reduce unnecessary spend and encourage cross-government collaboration. Central government organisations, including departments and the bodies they sponsor must obtain Cabinet Office approval when they want to spend money on specified activities. Cabinet Office spend controls are part of the wider government financial delegations and approvals process and are an important part of the mandate of the government functions. The Cabinet Office operates the spend controls on behalf of HM Treasury. 

The spend controls apply to commercial contracts, general grants, and individually specified types of transactions. The spend categories and associated control thresholds which are most applicable to the Authority are: 

• Commercial: All future commercial activity, framework agreements or material changes to services worth £20 million or more. 
• Digital and Technology: Digital and technology spend over £1 million, or any spend on cases involving Crypt-Key. 
• Facilities Management: All contracts over £500,000.  
• Contingent Labour: All Contingent Labour contracts with day rates of £1,000 or more, excluding agency fees and recoverable VAT.

Regularity breach 

A breach of the Cabinet Office controls framework in respect of the Crime Survey for England and Wales, as disclosed in detail in the Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2023/24 and repeated below, has deemed all expenditure under this contract irregular. The cumulative expenditure under the contract for 2023/24 and 2024/25 is £8.3m which exceeds the Authority’s in year materiality level of £8.1m. Cumulative expenditure under the Crime Survey for England and Wales by 2024/25 is thus deemed material and has led to a qualified opinion on the grounds of regularity in 2024/25. 

2023/24 Disclosure

The Authority’s outsourced contract for the Crime Survey for England and Wales was due to expire in March 2024 and the process of reviewing arrangements to outsource the service from April 2024 onwards commenced in June 2022. During this period, market engagement took place, and the feedback received led to the service specification being developed and an Invitation to Tender (ITT) being issued in June 2023. Prior to the ITT being issued, Cabinet Office approved the Outline Business Case in May 2023 as part of the prescribed Commercial spend control process for agreements valued at £20 million or more.  

Only one bid was received in response to the ITT being issued. Consequently, two actions were taken forward by the Authority in September 2023: a feasibility review into bringing the service “in-house”; and post-tender clarification discussions with the sole bidder. These actions concluded in October 2023 with the recommendation to continue the outsourcing arrangement under improved terms obtained through the post-tender clarification process. Preparation of the Full Business Case (FBC) proceeded, and the Authority’s Portfolio and Investment Committee approved the FBC which was then submitted to Cabinet Office in January 2024. 

However, to ensure uninterrupted provision of data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales from April 2024 onwards, preparatory work lasting six months had to be commissioned in October 2023. The supplier agreed to commence this work “at risk” based on a Letter of Intent issued to them, limited to the costs of the preparatory work not exceeding £0.5m and subject to agreement to award the full contract.  

In February 2024, the Cabinet Office rejected the FBC (with conditions which have subsequently been met) but stated that the Authority was not precluded from awarding the contract. The FBC was rejected for not following due process on the grounds of two definitions of retrospective action being breached – where the results of the evaluation have been communicated to bidders and where spend has been incurred or committed. This was on the basis that engagement with the sole bidder through the Letter of Intent issued in October 2023 effectively notified the sole bidder of the outcome of the evaluation before a decision from the Cabinet Office on the FBC and therefore rendered the approval request retrospective.  

Whilst the Authority acknowledges this decision and accepts that due process was not followed in this situation, it should be noted that the Cabinet Office deemed the FBC a good commercial case which would have been approved if not submitted retrospectively. All other aspects of the prescribed procurement process were adhered to. Cabinet Office also recognised that the breach is not a common occurrence for the Authority, and there were no sanctions imposed that would impact spend control thresholds for the Authority’s future business cases.

The Authority, despite significant market engagement, received only one bid for this contract which presented a unique set of circumstances and issues. The post-tender clarifications with the sole bidder achieved significantly improved commercial terms and greater value for money through cost reductions for the Exchequer. The impact of not issuing the Letter of Intent in October 2023 presented an intolerable risk in terms of interruption to survey operations from April 2024 and the consequential impact that would have on the production of national crime statistics.  

Following the Cabinet Office decision on the FBC in February 2024, the Authority faced a choice of whether to award the significantly improved contract despite the relatively minor procedural irregularity, or to run a fresh procurement exercise that would likely lead to a two-year gap in national crime statistics. The Authority considered the balance between meeting value for money requirements and ensuring continuity of service for national crime statistics, with technical regularity requirements. As the Cabinet Office had confirmed that the Authority was not precluded from awarding the contract, despite its judgement of procedural irregularity, the Authority decided to favour value for money and continuity of national crime statistics by awarding the contract (valued at £42.8m over 5 years) in April 2024.  

In response to the spend controls breach and to mitigate against recurrence, the Authority’s Commercial Services Division engaged with Cabinet Office, who provided spend control refresher training, and the introduction of monthly engagement sessions to discuss the Authority’s procurement pipeline. The timeline for commencing complex procurements has also been amended and brought forward to ensure contingency exists within future schedules to mitigate against unforeseen delays.

Assurances from Internal Audit

The Internal Audit function provides the National Statistician and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee with a clearer view on any emerging risks. The internal audit programme is closely linked to the key risks of the Authority. Arrangements are in place to ensure that the National Statistician is made aware of any significant issues which indicate that key risks are not being effectively managed. The Internal Audit service complies with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards. 

Opinion of the Head of Internal Audit

The annual internal audit opinion for FY 2024-25 on the adequacy and effectiveness of governance, risk management, and controls at the UK Statistics Authority (Authority) is Limited. Based on the work undertaken during the financial year, there are significant weaknesses in the framework of governance, risk management and control such that it could be or could become inadequate and ineffective. The drivers for my opinion are noted below. 

Data Governance 

The ONS lacks an enterprise-wide Data Governance Framework covering all data domains, with key decisions outstanding over the ‘to-be’ data governance model. Opportunities exist to address gaps in oversight and assurance over ONS data and to update and enhance the Information Asset Register (IAR).  The absence of an enterprise data management tool hinders the ability to effectively and efficiently maintain the data asset register. 

Legacy Technology

The strategic approach to longstanding issues related to use of Legacy systems and future state technology lacked congruence, while tactical remediation plans lacked detail, and implementation of mitigations has been slower than anticipated.  

Risk Management and Governance 

Improvements to financial forecasting and business planning continue to embed to enable better insight on productivity and efficiency, and clarity in communication of priorities.  

The majority of the ONS strategic risks are operating towards the top edge of appetite, while two strategic risks – Quality Economic Statistics, and Technological Resilience are currently operating out of appetite.  

Direction of Travel 

The ONS has faced some criticism of core outputs, particularly economic statistics throughout FY 2024-25. Following the National Statistician resignation in May 2025, the Interim National Statistician has instigated changes in governance arrangements, in anticipation of the Devereux review and ongoing Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) review, the former having published recommendations on the 26th of June. We anticipate further significant changes and challenges in light of these review recommendations.  

Confirmations of Census requirements and funding settlements now enable a strategic refresh of the UKSA priorities. Purposely focusing on delivery of our core statistics while ensuring transparency in communications both internally across the office, and in our external stakeholder messaging, will underpin successful navigation through this challenging period, and underpin refocus on our ambitions.  

We will refresh our Strategic Audit Plan to support any revisions to risks and enterprise priorities through a lens of quality and efficiency, to provide timely assurance that this focus on priorities is embedded throughout UKSA activities in FY 25-26.  

When formulating my Opinion, I have recognised that Management have already taken steps to address many of the issues raised to bring the control framework back in line with good practice, with steady progress in addressing agreed management actions. All areas exhibiting gaps in assurance during FY 2024-25 will be followed up in FY 2025-26 at ARAC in line with good governance requirements.  

Opinion of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee 

Based on the work of the Committee during the year and the assurance work carried out by the External and Internal Auditors, it is my opinion that the Authority’s governance and control framework for the year was generally effective, but with some areas of significant weakness identified especially in relation to data governance and technology. 

The Committee accepts the overall limited opinion from the Head of Internal Audit as a fair assessment. This is the first year of a limited opinion from the Head of Internal Audit since 2020. Over the last year issues including a lack of a joined up strategic approach and cross organisational delivery re-emerged. Legacy transformation, strategic resourcing and statistical quality continued to be challenging issues that lacked assurance.  

Emma Rourke on appointment as Acting National Statistician and Accounting Officer immediately made changes to the executive governance framework of the ONS to reinforce the leadership structure with the broadening out of ONS Executive Committee (ExCo) membership to strengthen decision making accountability. 

The Committee requires assurance in the coming year in all areas identified by limited assurance audits, and also the unsatisfactory Data Governance audit given the fundamental nature of this audit to the ONS as the UK’s National Statistics Institute. The Committee will also require assurance on the strategic risks and the effectiveness and impact of the recently implemented revised governance structures supporting the ONS ExCo in May 2025 in the overall running of the Authority, which will continue to be reviewed by the Committee.  

The Committee has seen legacy transformation remain a challenge albeit with limited progress reported in the first half of the year but a lack of assurance and plans in place in the second half of the year. The pace of delivery of legacy transformation remained slow, and the organisation needs to develop robust plans with appropriately prioritised funding in place as this impacts a number of strategic risks. The Committee will require assurance that plans are in place to mitigate legacy risks within an agreed timeframe to avoid any further delays or intolerable risk exposure.

The Risk and Assurance (R&A) function has continued to make progress. More work is required to assess how to strengthen the R&A function especially in relation to first line with respect to risk accountability and ownership. The Committee will require assurance on the effective management of the interdependencies across the strategic risk profile and to develop mitigation plans to address those risks that are outside of the Authority’s appetite. 

The business planning process this year concluded with the publication of the ONS’s revised strategic business plan published on 3 April. The Committee recognises the impact of the unexpected centrally mandated headcount cap at the start of 2024/25, which was lifted in the second half of the year and the challenging context for the organisation including the need to make difficult prioritisation decisions to focus in areas such as the Transformed Labour Force Survey. The year-end financial position meets all relevant control totals but the surplus position is perhaps higher than is optimal with a missed opportunity to use it to address areas of critical challenges. The Committee will expect improved assurance this year on workforce forecasting. 

Strategic resourcing and people engagement and culture have been a theme reported throughout the year that need to be addressed. The Authority continues to operate in a tight fiscal environment and is entering a period of further significant change and delivery in core priority areas. The Committee will require assurance in the that the outcomes of the Devereux Review and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry reviews are implemented effectively, maintaining focus on core delivery. 

In the coming year, the Committee will want to see improvements in the following areas: 

• Developing the culture of ownership and accountability. 
• Progressing critical enabling capabilities in resourcing and technology. 
• Strengthening Risk and Oversight functions, including line of sight of end to end strategic risks across the three lines of defence.  
• Strengthening Governance. 

Overall conclusion 

2024/25 has been a challenging year for the organisation, which has exposed areas of weakness and focal points for improvement. A ‘Limited’ overall opinion from the Head of Internal Audit is a regrettable and retrograde step for the organisation but is justified on the evidence.This year’s qualification of the regularity opinion– whilst related to a unique set of circumstances in 2023/24 rather than a systemic issue – is also regrettable. I remain committed to improving the performance of the organisation as we move into the new Spending Review period. 

Given the overall context over the past twelve-months it is perhaps unsurprising that the organisation has engaged in a series of additional external reviews outside of what would be considered as routine, including the review by Sir Robert Devereux of the performance and culture of the ONS which was published on 26 June 2025 . The suite of findings from these reviews, while uncomfortable reading in places, have all been welcomed. The recommendations  have helped the Authority, including the ONS, to set out on a course for improvement for example through the new economic statistics and survey improvement plans published on 26 June 2025. This course for improvement will need to be charted, in a constrained fiscal environment through which the ONS will also need to make essential preparations for a census in 2031 if the Government accepts the Authority’s recommendation to do so. This will not be easy. The  ONS will need to focus more sharply than ever before on its core purpose to produce high quality economic and population statistics, above all else.  

In conclusion, I believe that the overall governance of the Authority is effective but there is work to do to improve the organisation’s delivery, build performance accountabilities across the organisation, and address specific control issues. Since being appointed as Acting National Statistician, I have already made changes to the Authority’s executive governance to support delivery of our priorities and to enable faster, clearer decision-making and a more joined up approach to leadership. There is clearly more to do but, informed by insights from external reviews and internal audit, I am clear on what is required to set the organisation on the right course for improvement. 

Emma Rourke
Accounting Officer 
16 July 2025 

Summary financial information

Key financial outturns

The key financial outturns for 2024/25 are shown below: 

The Authority has utilised 97% of its Resource funds throughout the year in progressing its strategic and operational objectives. The above figures include both ring-fenced and non-ring-fenced resources. Within this, the Authority utilised  

• 98% of its non-ring-fenced Resource funding; and  
• 78% of its ring-fenced funding (Depreciation and Amortisation).  

Departmental expenditure limit – Capital

The Authority has been able to utilise 91% of its Capital funds throughout the year using this funding to continue to transform our IT systems, capitalise research where appropriate in the context of ESA10, and to ensure our estate reflects our hybrid working requirements. 

Depreciation and amortisation

The Authority has robust financial controls in place for asset management, and we have been able to plan effectively for the utilisation of our assets. During the year we have continued to review our assets which verified the continued useful economic life.

Annually managed expenditure

The Annually Managed Expenditure saving is attributed to a reduction in the level of provisions created during the period compared to that anticipated during the Estimate process.

The Authority had planned to create provisions which did not materialise at year end. These included a potential voluntary exit scheme which was not needed due to a successful redeployment policy and levels of resource staff attrition and also contractual disputes not concluded within the year end period. Further details on the movements within Provisions can be found in note 11 of the Accounts chapter.  

Included within the resource expenditure are staff costs which are analysed in the staff report. This shows the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) and their costs, which include wages, social security and pension costs. Employees are Civil Servants to whom the conditions of the Superannuation Acts of 1965 and 1972 and subsequent amendments apply. The Remuneration Report provides further information on the relevant schemes.

To support compliance with IAS24 Related Party Disclosures, all executive directors, non–executive directors and deputy directors are required to complete declarations that they have not entered into agreements or undertaken any material transactions with a related party during the year. Further information is in Note 16 of the accounts. 

The accounts of the Authority are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and his Certificate and Report to the House of Commons is presented in the Annual Accounts.

The financial statements are audited in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) issued by the Accounting Practices Board, and in accordance with the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000. 

Notional Audit fees charged in the accounts amount to £142,000 (2023/24 £137,000). 

Core tables

The Statistics Board Total departmental spending, 2020/21 to 2024/25

Prompt payment target

The Authority is committed to both the Chartered Institute of Credit Management and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s prompt payment code. The policy sets out that all invoices should be paid in accordance with contractual conditions. 

Where no conditions exist, payment will be made within 30 working days of the receipt of goods or services, or the presentation of a valid invoice, whichever is the later. We made payments in accordance with this policy in 96% of transactions for the year ended 31 March 2024 (96 % in 2023/24). The performance is measured in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines.

In addition to the 30 days target we endeavour to pay small and medium sized enterprises within five days. We achieved payment in accordance with this policy in 86% of transactions for the year, (88 % in 2023/24) compared to a target of 80 %. 

Directors’ report

The requirements of the Directors’ report are covered by the following: 

The Statistics Board, operating as The UK Statistics Authority is a non-ministerial department, operating at arm’s length from Government and reporting directly to Parliament and the devolved legislatures. The Cabinet Office retains residual ministerial responsibilities for the UK Statistics Authority. 

The composition of the Authority Board and its sub-committees is set out in the Governance Statement.  

The Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority are set out in the Remuneration Report. 

The Authority maintains a Register of Interests of its Board members. The Register of Interests is maintained on the UK Statistics Authority website.

It is updated at least annually. The onus is on individual members of the Authority to determine other interests that should be disclosed and to make known to the Chair and Secretariat any subsequent changes in those interests. At the start of every meeting of the Authority Board, members will be asked to declare any interests in the business on the agenda. Members should similarly make an interest known should it arise during the business of the meeting. 

Personal data related incidents are described in the Governance Statement.  

Other disclosures are promulgated by HM Treasury through Public Expenditure System papers. 

Financial reporting to Parliament

This report forms part of the annual reporting process to Parliament. Further, and as part of the reporting process the Authority also prepares estimates of its expenditure with the Main Estimate in the early part of the financial year, and the Supplementary Estimate normally published in February.

Engagement and transparency

The Authority believes that transparency is a key condition and driver for the delivery of our services. As a publicly funded organisation, we have a duty to our stakeholders to be transparent about our business operations and outcome. 

To provide transparency across its operations the Authority published information which is regularly updated on its own website and /or the UKSA website. 

This includes: 

• expenses and hospitality received by board members and senior directors
• organisation charts 
• details of senior and junior posts and senior staff salaries 
• details of payments to suppliers each month over £25,000
• monthly prompt payment information 
• exception reporting 

The Authority has a central email enquiry point, authority.enquiries@statistics.gov.uk. Enquiry handling is managed by the Secretariat. There is also a central telephone enquiry line 0845 604 1857. 

The Authority operates transparently and openly. It publishes the minutes and papers of its meetings, and correspondence regarding issues of public concern and information about other aspects of its work on its website.

Contractual arrangements

The Authority uses around 250 third-party agreements to help to deliver its business. All contracts are tiered using a segregation tool that follows Government Commercial Operating Standards (GCOS) best practice and this allows the Authority to determine the level of engagement to successfully deliver the required contractual outcomes. 

It categorises contracts into 3 tiers: Gold; Silver; and Bronze. Gold contracts receive the highest level of input and scrutiny from commercial contract managers, as they are considered key to delivering our operational goals. It also maps to a risk vs complexity matrix so that contract management techniques are applied most effectively.  

Supplier performance is reviewed in accordance with Government Procurement Guidelines including monthly reviews to strategically monitor the financial stability of the business, Key Performance Indicators, and to share lessons learned to improve delivery across the whole portfolio. Social value continues to be key in evaluating third parties and our focus on social value produces contracts that have additional benefits for the local communities they serve. For example, producing a more inclusive and accessible recruitment procedure to improve opportunities for groups in under-represented areas.

Remuneration report

The remuneration report is presented in accordance with Civil Service Employer Pension Notice guidance.  

Service contracts

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires Civil Service appointments to be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Recruitment Principles published by the Civil Service Commission specify the circumstances when appointments may be made otherwise. 

Unless otherwise stated below, the officials covered by this report hold appointments which are open-ended. Early termination, other than for misconduct, would result in the individual receiving compensation as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. 

Further information about the work of the Civil Service Commission can be found on the Civil Service Commission website. 

Remuneration policy

The Remuneration Committee concluded the pay arrangements for the UK Statistics Authority’s Senior Civil Servants. The committee’s membership is set out in the Governance Statement.  

The UK Statistics Authority Senior Civil Service (SCS) salary arrangements follow the guidance set out by the Cabinet Office in response to the Senior Salaries Review Body. SCS pay consists of two elements: a consolidated increase to base pay and a non-consolidated bonus payment. Both elements are performance-related and determined by an individual’s performance in the previous appraisal year.  

The remuneration for the National Statistician is not agreed by the Authority’s Remuneration Committee but is determined independently.  

Remuneration (including salary) and pension entitlements

The following sections provide details of the remuneration and pension interests of the Executive and Non-Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics.  

Remuneration of Executive Directors for the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics, 2024/25 and 2023/24 (audited)

Salary

Non-Executive Directors are paid a fee, plus expenses, and have no pension entitlement.  

‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private office allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. This report is based on accrued payments made by the Department and thus recorded in these accounts.   

Benefits in kind

None of the above received benefits in kind.

Bonus payments

Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process. Bonus payments are reported in the financial year that payments are made but can fall within one of two categories: in-year bonuses, recognising performance in the financial year they were paid; and annual bonuses, which recognise performance in the previous financial year.  

Remuneration of Non-Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority 2024/25 and 2023/24 (audited)

Fair pay

Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the highest-paid director in their organisation and the lower quartile, median and upper  quartile remuneration of the organisation’s workforce.  

The mid-point banded remuneration of the highest-paid director in the Authority in the financial year 2024/25 was £182,500 (2023/24: £177,500). This was 5.23 times (2023/24: 5.33 times) the median remuneration of the workforce, which was £34,874 (2023/24: £33,275).  

No employees received remuneration in excess of the highest-paid director in either 2024/25 or 2023/24. The lowest staff remuneration in 2024/25 was £23,496 (2023/24: £22,082).  

Percentage change in total salary and bonuses for the highest paid director and the staff average

The percentage change from previous financial year in respect of the highest paid director is based on the mid-point of their banded total salary and bonus payments. The percentage change in the staff average figures, is calculated as total salary and bonus payments in the period, divided by the FTE number of employees (excluding the highest paid director).  Total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay and  benefits-in-kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

The Authority implemented the August 2024 pay award in 2024/25, resulting in a consolidated increase of at least 5% for all staff members, as reflected in the increase to the average staff remuneration (4.9%) and positive pay ratio movements in the above tables. In comparison, the average staff remuneration in 2023/24 increased at a higher rate (5.8%), due to the 2023/24 pay award delivering a consolidated increase of at least 4.5% to all staff members in addition to a one-off non-consolidated payment of £1,500 made to all eligible staff members. 

Pension benefits (audited)

The following table identifies pension benefits for Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics.

Civil Service pensions

Pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements. Before 1 April 2015, the only scheme was the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is divided into a few different sections – classic, premium, and classic plus provide benefits on a final salary basis, whilst nuvos provides benefits on a career average basis. From 1 April 2015 a new pension scheme for civil servants was introduced – the Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme or alpha, which provides benefits on a career average basis. All newly appointed civil servants, and the majority of those already in service, joined the new scheme. 

The PCSPS and alpha are unfunded statutory schemes. Employees and employers make contributions (employee contributions range between 4.6% and 8.05%, depending on salary). The balance of the cost of benefits in payment is met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions in payment are increased annually in line with the Pensions Increase legislation. Instead of the defined benefit arrangements, employees may opt for a defined contribution pension with an employer contribution, the partnership pension account. 

In alpha, pension builds up at a rate of 2.32% of pensionable earnings each year, and the total amount accrued is adjusted annually in line with a rate set by HM Treasury. Members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004. All members who switched to alpha from the PCSPS had their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their final salary when they leave alpha. 

The accrued pensions shown in this report are the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach normal pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are already at or over normal pension age. Normal pension age is 60 for members of classic, premium, and classic plus, 65 for members of nuvos, and the higher of 65 or State Pension Age for members of alpha. The pension figures in this report show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where a member has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha, the figures show the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes but note that the constituent parts of that pension may be payable from different ages. 

When the Government introduced new public service pension schemes in 2015, there were transitional arrangements which treated existing scheme members differently based on their age. Older members of the PCSPS remained in that scheme, rather than moving to alpha. In 2018, the Court of Appeal found that the transitional arrangements in the public service pension schemes unlawfully discriminated against younger members. 

As a result, steps are being taken to remedy those 2015 reforms, making the pension scheme provisions fair to all members. The public service pensions remedy9 is made up of two parts. The first part closed the PCSPS on 31 March 2022, with all active members becoming members of alpha from 1 April 2022. The second part removes the age discrimination for the remedy period, between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, by moving the membership of eligible members during this period back into the PCSPS on 1 October 2023. This is known as “rollback”. 

The partnership pension account is an occupational defined contribution pension arrangement which is part of the Legal & General Mastertrust. The employer makes a basic contribution of between 8% and 14.75% (depending on the age of the member). The employee does not have to contribute but, where they do make contributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (in addition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5% of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally provided risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement). 

Further details about the Civil Service pension arrangements can be found at the Civil Service Pension Scheme website.

Cash equivalent transfer values

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. 

The figures include the value of any pension benefit in another scheme or arrangement which the member has transferred to the Civil Service pension arrangements. They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their buying additional pension benefits at their own cost. 

CETVs are worked out in accordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction to benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax which may be due when pension benefits are taken. 

Real increase in CETV

This reflects the increase in CETV that is funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period. 

Board member and senior official off-payroll engagements

The following table identifies off-payroll engagements of board members, and/or, Senior officials with significant financial responsibility, between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.   

Other information

Compensation for loss of office (audited)

No Director received compensation for loss of office during 2024/25.  

Payments to past directors (audited)

No payments were made to past directors other than in respect of employment or other contractual service for the company other than as a director.   

Staff report

Staff numbers (audited)

Staff costs (audited)

Capitalised staff costs (audited)

Staff numbers as at 31 March 2025 (audited)

Staff loaned as at 31 March 2025

Staff hosted as at 31 March 2025

Staff turnover

Contingent workers as at 31 March 2025

Staff composition as at 31 March 2025

Number of Senior Civil Service staff by SCS pay band (average for the year)

Off payroll engagements

The following table identifies all off-payroll engagements as at 31 March 2025 for more than £245 per day for a period longer than six months. 

The following table details the total number of off-payroll engagements in excess of £245 per day for a period longer than six months (between the 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025).  

Sickness absence

Average working days lost during 2024/25, for our workforce excluding Interviewers, was 8.0 (was 6.9 in 2023/24), and for the workforce as a whole, was 9.0 (was 8.2 in 2023/24). 

The methodology used for our external reporting of sickness absence has excluded our Interviewer workforce because of differing terms and conditions of employment.  The figure of 8.0 is in line with our external reporting, and the figure of 9.0 reflects the whole workforce. 

Reporting compensations for employee departures (audited)

During the financial year 2024/25 we released 11 individuals through a targeted Voluntary Exit scheme(1 in 2023/24). The offer of exit, and last day of service took place in 2024/25 therefore costs are attributed to financial year 2024/25. We also had 10 efficiency departures (3 in 2023/24) where there is a cost to the Authority of £169k (£14.5k 2023/24). 

Redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provision of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme under the Superannuation Act 1972. Exit costs are accounted for in full for the year of departure. Where the department has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the department and not the Civil Service pension scheme.  

Ill-health retirement costs are met by the Pension Scheme and are not included in the table. 

Employee matters

Employment, training and support for people with disabilities

The Authority is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. As part of this commitment, the Authority gives full and fair consideration to the employment, training, support and progression of colleagues with a disability/long-term health condition. 

The Authority applies the Recruitment Principles of the Civil Service Commission, appointing candidates on merit through fair and open competition.   

Recruitment and selection training is provided to all interviewers. In 2023, The Authority retained its Level 3 Disability Confident Leader status, the highest-level of accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to offer interview those who declare a disability/long-term health condition and meet the minimum selection criteria. 

The Authority’s policies require that managers must consider and, where reasonable, implement workplace adjustments to enable a colleague with a disability/long-term health condition to attend work and carry out their role effectively. Such adjustments are recorded on a Workplace Adjustments Passport and are kept under regular review. There is an active disABILITY Diversity Network, supported by senior champions, focused on removing any barriers within the workplace, and celebrating key disability awareness days throughout the year across the organisation.

The Authority promotes several cross-government talent schemes that seek to attract colleagues with disabilities, as well as those from other underrepresented groups. These include the Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) and Senior Leaders Scheme (SLS). The bespoke Disability Empowers Leadership Talent scheme, also known as DELTA, is available to anyone with a disability/long-term health condition who gains a place on the cross-government FLS. In addition, our learning offer supports working with those who are neurodivergent.  Our learning interventions meet all legal accessibility requirements.  

Monitoring spending on consultancy and temporary staff

Professional services external resources can generally be split into two broad categories. Temporary staff includes temporary workers and specialist contractors who are used to cover business-as-usual or service delivery activities within the Authority. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of the Authority and may include the identification of options with recommendations. 

Expenditure on consultancy decreased from £10.3m in 2023-24 to £6.1m in 2024-25 and expenditure on contractors decreased from £4.1m in 2023-24 to £1.9m in 2024-25.  

Spend on consultancy and the need for temporary staff is largely dependent on the nature of projects being undertaken and the expertise required. The lack of demand on this type of role was the primary contributor to a decrease in temporary staff costs this year.  

Workplace health, safety and welfare

All activities required under the Health and Safety (H&S) framework of governance, risk management and control for the Authority were completed during this period. Our workplace H&S performance is audited and reviewed on an annual basis and reported to the Departmental H&S Committee and the People Committee. The Authority has published an up-to-date H&S Policy, which has been amended as necessary to ensure it remains current with legislation and takes account of organisational changes.  All necessary risk assessments, inspections, maintenance, cleaning and testing regimes were in place. 

A focus on wellbeing is embedded within our People Survey and broader engagement activity including our wider management approach. The 2024 People Survey saw a range of responses in this area but with net positive scores in the organisational culture theme. Our overall Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning and Accomplishment (PERMA) score, a holistic measure of positive wellbeing, remained stable and high at 72%. Our Proxy Stress Index score saw a two percentage point increase to 28% (from 26%). We acknowledge an error in the reporting of our Proxy Stress Index score through our 2023/24 Annual Report and Accounts, which quoted it as 31%, with a three percentage point increase on the previous year, when it should have been 26% with a two percentage point decrease on the previous year.

Our wellbeing offer is wide-ranging and dynamic across the organisation, based on the principles of being proactive, empowering and flexible, with a focus on five wellbeing pillars: Workplace, Mental, Physical, Social, and Financial. Our offer also includes Menopause Ambassadors, a new cadre of Macmillan trained Cancer in the Workplace trainers, and resources to support colleagues with leading and managing change. We continue to improve the accessibility and understanding of our current resources, working closely with relevant networks to enhance our offering particularly in response to a greater focus on mental health and wellbeing.

Equality, diversity and inclusion overview

Our strategic purpose is to create ‘Statistics for the Public Good’. To do so, it is vital that we continue to build a working environment in which equality and inclusion are instinctive, with a workforce that reflects the public it serves.  

Compliance with the Equality Act 2010 remains a core tenet, as we align policies, processes, and infrastructure to its principles. Our Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) play a key role in helping us ensure that inclusion is hardwired into all our practices. Further information on our commitment to the Public Sector Equality Duty is available on the Authority’s website. 

‘Inclusion’ is also a central pillar of our People Plan, which is reflected in our Strategy and Strategic Business Plan. Our ambition is to drive an inclusive culture in which everyone feels valued, that they belong, and have an equal opportunity to contribute to the organisation’s purpose.  

Our more detailed Inclusion Plan outlines our intention to:  

• Build a coordinated approach to Inclusion and Diversity across the organisation.  
• Hardwire Inclusion and Diversity into everything we do.  
• Build representation of underrepresented groups and support their career progression.  
• Continue to build the Authority’s reputation as an inclusive employer.  
• Improve and develop our evidence base. 

This plan was launched in November 2020, and we have made significant progress to date; notably in the development of our evidence base, strengthening our governance and coordination, and being recognised for our practices by external benchmarking experts. More information about recognition in this space can be found within the benchmarking and collaborating section below. 

In 2024/25 We have supplemented our evidence base through greater engagement with our colleague networks to enable a more joined up employee voice architecture. We also continue to partner with external bodies to drive innovation in inclusion practices, most recently seen in our enhanced menopause support offering.

Equality, diversity and inclusion infrastructure

Governance

Our Inclusion & Diversity Steering Group (IDSG) leads on evaluating new initiatives, and progress against existing commitments and issues. The Group consists of colleagues from across our employee diversity networks and other key stakeholders. IDSG reports to our People Committee (PC), the governance body responsible for people matters. PC is attended by key senior leaders, chaired by one of our Deputy National Statisticians, and includes non-executive colleagues to represent diverse viewpoints from across the organisation. 

Diversity networks

Our employee diversity networks continue to add essential value and insight to our inclusion agenda and play a key role in supporting the organisation to improve our processes and policies. Each recognised diversity network is led by a team of colleagues who volunteer their own time to undertake dedicated roles, and a sponsor from the senior leadership cadre.  

The networks also play an active role in raising awareness and creating a learning environment around inclusion. This includes but is not limited to: arranging expert guest panels; sharing blogs on their experiences; identifying and sharing best practice; raising awareness around key events; and linking with other government departments’ networks.  

Benchmarking and collaborating

In line with the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2022-2025) guidance, the Authority continues to identify opportunities to engage with independent, external organisations. This helps us to ensure that our policies and practices are robust and in line with leading industry standards by participating in objective benchmarking exercises and benefitting from expert support and advice.  

The Authority also maintained its Disability Confident Leader status for further three years, with feedback celebrating and acknowledging efforts in continuing to challenge behaviours and attitudes, promote inclusion through our Networks, and report on disability, mental health, and wellbeing. 

We continue to identify opportunities for more collaboration and shared initiatives with the Cabinet Office and other government departments. 

Measuring progress

Workforce diversity data is monitored at both business and organisational level, with progress measured on a regular basis via an interactive dashboard.  Declaration rates are steadily increasing, and colleagues are regularly encouraged to contribute the information to build a stronger evidence base from which to drive our interventions.   

In addition to our workforce demographic data, progress is measured through a combination of sources including new people dashboards, insights from our employee diversity networks, listening groups, internal targeted pulse surveys and the annual Civil Service People Survey. The Inclusion, Culture, and Wellbeing dashboard remains a valuable tool through which the Authority can move beyond traditional methods of monitoring diversity to meaningfully measuring inclusion and hold senior leaders accountable for their progress.  

The People Survey provides an overall score for Inclusion and Fair Treatment, for which the Authority has maintained a high score of 81% in 2024.  

With the publication of the revised Civil Service Inclusion & Diversity strategy, we continue to closely align our approach to measuring and evaluating our success with the wider Civil Service set of standards.   

Workforce diversity data and progress against targets as at 31 March 2025

Whilst all employees in the Authority are strongly encouraged to make a positive declaration within each of these diversity measures there is no obligation to do so. The percentage of employees who have declared is 88.4%. The following data is collated from those who have made a declaration.  

The Authority is committed to being representative of the society we serve and to create an inclusive environment for colleagues to thrive. We benchmark our ethnic minority representation against the ‘travel to work’ area for our main locations and are proud to report that our current ethnic minority representation of 10.8% surpasses the benchmark of 8.7%. 

We have consistently maintained at least 50% female representation at our feeder grades to SCS, as well as across our managerial and administrative grades.  We are pleased with the increase in female representation at our SCS grades, which has risen from 44.9% to 47.8%. This progress positively impacts our aspiration to achieve total gender parity, although we recognise that changes within this smaller population can have a disproportionate impact on distribution. 

We are hugely encouraged by the growth, over the past two years, in the population of our workforce who have declared as disabled (23.2%). We pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer, and creating working environments that allow all colleagues to be fully effective is key to that. 

Trade union facility time

Organisations are required to publish trade union facility time data. Trade union facility time is a legal entitlement and is allocated by the Authority. Total time spent on union activities should equate to no more than 0.1% of the total pay bill and no-one should spend more than 50% of their time on such activities.  

The total number of employees who were trade union representatives during the year was 44. 

The cost to the Authority of trade union facility time represents 0.06% of the pay bill of  £284,492,000 (2023/24 0.04% of the pay bill £291,955,000).  

Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours is 0%. 

Parliamentary Accountability Report

Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply

In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) requires the Authority to prepare a Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply (SOPS) and supporting notes. 

The SOPS and related notes are subject to audit, as detailed in the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons. 

The SOPS is a key accountability statement that shows, in detail, how an entity has spent against their Supply Estimate. Supply is the monetary provision (for resource and capital purposes) and cash (drawn primarily from the Consolidated fund), that Parliament gives statutory authority for entities to utilise. The Estimate details supply and is voted on by Parliament at the start of the financial year. 

Should an entity exceed the limits set by their Supply Estimate, called control limits, their accounts will receive a qualified opinion. 

The format of the SOPS mirrors the Supply Estimates, published on gov.uk, to enable comparability between what Parliament approves and the final outturn. 

The SOPS contain a summary table, detailing performance against the control limits that Parliament have voted on, cash spent (budgets are compiled on an accruals basis and so outturn won’t exactly tie to cash spent) and administration. 

The supporting notes detail the following: Outturn by Estimate line, providing a more detailed breakdown (note 1); a reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure in the SOCNE, to tie the SOPS to the financial statements (note 2); a reconciliation of outturn to net cash requirement (note 3); and, an analysis of income payable to the Consolidated Fund (note 4). 

The SOPS and Estimates are compiled against the budgeting framework, which is similar to, but different to, IFRS. An understanding of the budgeting framework and an explanation of key terms is provided on page 38 (of the PDF), in the financial review section of the performance report. Further information on the Public Spending Framework and the 6 reasons why budgeting rules are different to IFRS can also be found in chapter 1 of the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, available on gov.uk. 

The SOPS provides a detailed view of financial performance, in a form that is voted on and recognised by Parliament. The financial review, in the Performance Report, provides a summarised discussion of outturn against estimate and functions as an introduction to the SOPS disclosures. 

Summary tables (audited)

Summary table 2024/25, all figures presented in £000’s.

Net Cash Requirement 2023/24 (audited)

All figures presented in £000’s.

Notes to the parliamentary supply, 2024/25
(£000’s)(audited)

SOPS 1 – Outturn detail by estimate Line

For the period ending 31 March 2025. All figures presented in £000’s.

SOPS 1.1 Analysis of resource outturn by estimate line.

SOPS 1.2 Analysis of capital outturn by estimate line.

All figures presented in £000’s.

SOPS 2 – Reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure.

All figures presented in £000’s

SOPS 3 – Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net cash requirement.

For the period ending 31 March 2025. All figures presented in £000’s.

SoPS 4 Amounts of income to the consolidated fund

SoPS 4.1 Analysis of income payable to the consolidated fund

There is no income payable to the consolidated fund.

SoPS 4.2 Consolidated fund income

The authority does not collect income as an agent of the consolidated fund.

Parliamentary Accountability Disclosure)

Special payment and losses (audited)

For the period ending 31 March 2025

There are no individual cases of special payments or losses over £300,000 (2023/24: No cases) which need separate disclosure as required by Managing Public Money.

Fees and charges (audited)

The Authority is not subject to statutory fees and charges.

Gifts (audited)

The Authority has not made gifts with a total or individual value exceeding £300,000.

Regularity of expenditure (audited)

The Authority incurred irregular expenditure of £7,791,000 during 2024/25 (£481,000 in 2023/24), for further details please refer to the Cabinet Office Controls disclosure in the Governance Statement on page 74 (of the PDF).

Remote contingent liabilities

None identified.

Disclosure of information to the auditors

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer include confirming that as far as she is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware and that she has taken steps she ought to have taken to make herself aware of any relevant audit information, and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. 

Emma Rourke
Accounting Officer
16 July 2025

The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons

Opinion on financial statements

I certify that I have audited the financial statements of the Statistics Board (operating as the UK Statistics Authority) for the year ended 31 March 2025 under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. 

The financial statements comprise the UK Statistics Authority’s 

• Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2025;   
• Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure, Statement of Cash Flows and Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity for the year then ended; and  
• the related notes including the significant accounting policies.  

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the financial statements is applicable law and UK adopted international accounting standards.  

In my opinion, the financial statements: 

• give a true and fair view of the state of the UK Statistics Authority’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and its net expenditure for the year then ended; and 
• have been properly prepared in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 and HM Treasury directions issued thereunder. 

Qualified opinion on regularity

In my opinion, except for the effects of the matters described in the basis for qualified opinion on regularity sections below, in all material respects: 

• the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals for the year ended 31 March 2025 and shows that those totals have not been exceeded; and 
• the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them. 

Basis qualified opinion on regularity

The UK Statistics Authority is required to comply with Cabinet Office spend controls which form part of its framework of authorities. These include controls over commercial spend. During 2024–25, the UK Statistics Authority incurred spend against a contract to conduct the Crime Survey for England and Wales. It had not obtained Cabinet Office approval of the contract when it was entered into in 2023-24. Expenditure of £7.79m, recognised within note 4 of the financial statements, therefore did not have appropriate Cabinet Office approval. I have qualified my regularity opinion as a result. 

Basis for opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs UK), applicable law and Practice Note 10 Audit of Financial Statements and Regularity of Public Sector Bodies in the United Kingdom (2024). My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate.

Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2019. I am independent of the UK Statistics Authority in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit of the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, I have concluded that the UK Statistics Authority’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work I have performed, I have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the UK Statistics Authority ‘s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

My responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this certificate. 

The going concern basis of accounting for the UK Statistics Authority is adopted in consideration of the requirements set out in HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual, which requires entities to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements where it is anticipated that the services which they provide will continue into the future. 

Other information

The other information comprises information included in the Annual Report, but does not include the financial statements and my auditor’s certificate and report thereon. The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information.  

My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in my certificate, I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

My responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.  

If I identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, I am required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact. 

I have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters

In my opinion the part of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

In my opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit have been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000;
• the information given in the Performance and Accountability Reports for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements and is in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which I report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the UK Statistics Authority and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified material misstatements in the Performance and Accountability Report. 

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion: 

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the UK Statistics Authority or returns adequate for my audit have not been received from branches not visited by my staff; or
• I have not received all of the information and explanations I require for my audit; or 
• the financial statements and the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 
• certain disclosures of remuneration specified by HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual have not been made or parts of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited is not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or   
• the Governance Statement does not reflect compliance with HM Treasury’s guidance. 

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the Accounting Officer is responsible for:

• maintaining proper accounting records;   
• providing the C&AG with access to all information of which management is aware that is relevant to the preparation of the financial statements such as records, documentation and other matters; 
• providing the C&AG with additional information and explanations needed for his audit; 
• providing the C&AG with unrestricted access to persons within the UK Statistics Authority from whom the auditor determines it necessary to obtain audit evidence;  
• ensuring such internal controls are in place as deemed necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements to be free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error;  
• preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view, in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000; 
• preparing the annual report, which includes the Remuneration and Staff Report, in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000; and 
• assessing the UK Statistics Authority’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Accounting Officer anticipates that the services provided by the UK Statistics Authority will not continue to be provided in the future. 

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statement

My responsibility is to audit, certify and report on the financial statements in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.  

My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a certificate that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud

I design procedures in line with my responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud. The extent to which my procedures are capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud is detailed below. 

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, I: 

• considered the nature of the sector, control environment and operational performance including the design of the UK Statistics Authority’s accounting policies and performance incentives.  
• inquired of management, the UK Statistics Authority’s head of internal audit and those charged with governance, including obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation relating to the UK Statistics Authority’s policies and procedures on:  
  • identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations; 
  • detecting and responding to the risks of fraud; and 
  • the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations including the UK Statistics Authority’s controls relating to the UK Statistics Authority’s compliance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money and the Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act 2024; 
• inquired of management, the UK Statistics Authority’s head of internal audit and those charged with governance whether: 
  • they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations; 
  • they had knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud, 
• discussed with the engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.  

As a result of these procedures, I considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the UK Statistics Authority for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: revenue recognition, posting of unusual journals, complex transactions and bias in management estimates. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), I am required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override. 

I obtained an understanding of the UK Statistics Authority’s framework of authority and other legal and regulatory frameworks in which the UK Statistics Authority operates. I focused on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the UK Statistics Authority. The key laws and regulations I considered in this context included Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money, Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act 2024 and employment law.

Audit response to identified risk

To respond to the identified risks resulting from the above procedures: 

• I reviewed the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described above as having direct effect on the financial statements;
• I enquired of management, the Audit and Risk Committee concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
• I reviewed minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and the Board; and internal audit reports;  
• I addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements on estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business; and 

I communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential risks of fraud to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website. This description forms part of my certificate. 

Other auditor’s responsibilities

I am required to obtain appropriate evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals and that those totals have not been exceeded. The voted Parliamentary control totals are Departmental Expenditure Limits (Resource and Capital), Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource and Capital), Non-Budget (Resource) and Net Cash Requirement.  

I am required to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them. 

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control I identify during my audit. 

Gareth Davies
Comptroller and Auditor General
16 July 2025
National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London
SW1W 9SP

The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons

Introduction

The UK Statistics Authority is an independent statutory body. It operates at arm’s length from government as a non–ministerial department and reports directly to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The UK Statistics Authority has a statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that ‘serve the public good’. 

This Report sets out why I have qualified my regularity opinion due to a breach of Cabinet Office spend controls. 

Breach of Cabinet Office Spend Controls

As a central government body, the UK Statistics Authority is required to comply with the Cabinet Office Spend Controls. These state that all central government organisations, including departments and the bodies they sponsor, must obtain approval from the Cabinet Office when they want to spend money on specified activities. The specified activities include commercial spend on all contracts with a value greater than £20m.  

I draw attention to the disclosures that the UK Statistics Authority has made on pages 74-76 (of the PDF) of the Annual Report. This explains the circumstances which led to the UK Statistics Authority entering into a contract in 2023-24 for the Crime Survey in England and Wales without receiving approval under the Cabinet Office Spend Controls.

In my Report on the 2023-24 accounts, I noted that I had concluded that any expenditure incurred on the contract would be irregular. However, given that the UK Statistics Authority incurred immaterial expenditure under the contract in 2023-24, I did not modify my regularity opinion for that year in this respect, while noting there was a significant risk that I would qualify my regularity opinion in future years once there was material spend against the contract.  

In 2024-25, the UK Statistics Authority has spent £7.79m against the contract. Total anticipated spend is £42.8m excluding VAT over the period of the contract and total cumulative expenditure to 31 March 2025 on the contract is £8.29m. This spend is irregular and I have qualified my regularity opinion as a result. I do not anticipate qualifying my regularity opinion as a result of this breach in future years. I consider that, while future spend against the contract will be irregular, the irregularity will not be material, as it is due to a breach at the procurement stage which has already been recognised in this year’s qualification.  

Gareth Davies
Comptroller and Auditor General
16 July 2025
National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London
SW1W 9SP