Dear Jen and Alex
Review of statistics from the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS)
Thank you for your letter detailing the progress you are making towards the five requirements for improvement set out in our review of statistics from the WAS.
We welcome the clear commitment to address these requirements and note the following:
- Comparability of data sources: We note that work is underway and look forward to the planned publication of enhanced Quality and Methods Information by Spring 2026. This is an important step to restoring user confidence.
- Back series of data: Your plans to publish Round 7 data and enable year-on-year comparisons with Round 8 are positive steps. We encourage clarity on the feasibility of publishing further years and recommend that users are kept informed through a clear roadmap.
- User engagement: The establishment of an Expert Group on Wealth Statistics and the forthcoming stakeholder engagement plan are important developments. We expect these mechanisms to provide meaningful opportunities for users to influence priorities and will review progress in early 2026.
- Communication of data quality: The improvements identified for the QMI and the work to integrate confidence intervals into regular outputs will strengthen user understanding of uncertainty. We recognise the initial progress already made and encourage transparent communication of any ongoing data quality concerns.
- Resource planning: We note your intention to publish an update on resource needs in early December and to align this with the 2026/27 business planning process. This will be critical to sustaining improvements, and we expect ONS to communicate priorities openly with users.
These actions are essential to ensure users have access to high-quality, trustworthy wealth statistics. We will monitor delivery closely and follow the improvements to these statistics as Round 9 of the WAS progresses towards publication.
I would grateful if you could provide a further update on progress by April 2026.
Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR