Members

• Jonathan Portes (Chair) 
• Alexandra Fitzpatrick (Welsh Government, delegate for Stephanie Howarth) 
• Chaitra Nagaraja (University of Exeter) 
• David Bell (University of Stirling) 
• Jonathan Wadsworth (Royal Holloway College)  
• Lawrence Lam (Office for Budget Responsibility, delegate for Rosanna Colthorpe) 
• Tom Pybus (HM Treasury, delegate for Daniel Gallagher) 
• Tom Younger (Department for Work and Pensions) 
• Tomas Key (Bank of England, delegate for Huw Pill) 
• Xiaowei Xu (Institute for Fiscal Studies) 

ONS presenters

• Heather Bovill 
• Becky Hendy  
• James Harris 

ONS colleagues

• Cliodhna Taylor  
• David Freeman  
• Ellis Daniel  
• Katy Nicholls 
• Liz McKeown  
• Sarah Ash 

ONS secretariat

• Emma Shewring 

1. Introduction

1. The Chair opened the meeting, welcomed attendees, and highlighted the agenda covering progress on the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS), readiness assessment, and Northern Ireland data integration.  

2. ONS update

1. ONS provided an update on wider priorities.
2. The second quarterly update on the Economic Statistics Plan was published in April and set out progress against recommendations. 
3. The next Economic Statistics Plan quarterly update is expected in July and will include further information on milestones and priorities. 
4. A more detailed labour market update is planned for August. 

3. TLFS progress update

1. ONS provided an overview of TLFS progress, including the implementation of the final major planned design improvements in April 2026. 
2. These changes included data rotation, improvements to pay and earnings questions, and an increase in household incentives from £10 to £20 per wave. 
   1. Early indications suggested that these changes were supporting improved response, although the full effect on estimates and quality will take longer to assess. 
   2. Further scenario work is being undertaken to assess possible interventions. 

4. Readiness assessment

1. ONS outlined the approach to the TLFS readiness assessment. 
2. As previously announced, the July assessment will confirm the timing of the next readiness review, whether ONS is ready to publish research outputs and whether any further design changes are required at this stage.  
3. The readiness assessment process will include engagement through the Labour Market Technical Group, the Stakeholder Advisory Panel, TLFS Programme Board, Executive Committee, and UK Statistics Authority Board. 
   1. A public update is planned for August. 
   2. The Panel emphasised that the public update should focus on future plans and next steps. 
   3. Panel members highlighted the need for clear explanation of trade-offs, timelines and interdependencies. 
   4. ONS confirmed that these points would inform the communications plan. 

5. Northern Ireland data integration 

1. ONS provided an overview of the Northern Ireland Data Integration Project. 
2. The integration project aims to maintain continuity in UK labour market statistics throughout the transition. 
3. The work includes mapping variables, adjusting weights where needed, aligning derived variables, and developing UK-wide labour market outputs. 
4. Where variables cannot be mapped, they may need to be treated as Great Britain-only in future. 
5. ONS and NISRA will continue to develop user guidance, mapping documentation and supporting information. 
6. The Panel did not identify any immediate issues that would prevent progress and agreed members could provide further feedback by correspondence. 

Please note: AI has been involved in the production of this content. The content has been reviewed by ONS prior to publication.