Ed Humpherson to Alex Lambert and Liz McKeown: Household finance statistics 

Dear Alex and Liz

Household finance statistics quality improvement plan

Thank you for your letter giving a helpful update on progress with your household finance statistics quality improvement.

Focusing on the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), we recognise that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made meaningful progress against the requirements we set in our report when accreditation was suspended. ONS has improved the quality and methodology information available to users by publishing transformed quality documents, an expanded set of quality indicators, and a back series using the updated pensions methodology. ONS has also put in place a stakeholder engagement plan, strengthened the governance and resourcing of the improvement plan, and been more transparent about its priorities and progress. These significant improvements demonstrate a constructive response to the issues we identified.

Outstanding actions that ONS should take forward are set out in our September 2026 letter on defined benefit pension wealth. These are to facilitate a focused discussion with users and experts, explaining the rationale for the current valuation approach and the alternatives considered, and using that engagement and analysis to inform future methodological decisions. ONS should also continue its wider programme of user engagement, including through the proposed user workshop.

The evidence needed to assess the quality of the next round of WAS statistics will not be available until the statistics have been fully quality assured, published, and tested with users. In the meantime, ONS should continue to communicate clearly and regularly about the statistics’ current quality limitations and their implications for users, progress against the improvement plan, and any emerging quality concerns.

As ONS does not intend to request reaccreditation for the WAS until winter 2028, we will move the accreditation status from suspended to cancelled, in line with our guidance. Suspension is intended to be temporary while a producer addresses outstanding requirements within a reasonable timeframe. Where reaccreditation is not expected for a prolonged period, cancellation provides users with a clearer and more transparent position. This change in status does not alter OSR’s view of the importance of the statistics or the value of the improvement work underway.

We welcome ONS’s commitment to the improvement work and will remain engaged as it develops. When ONS is ready to request reaccreditation, we will assess the statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics. This will include considering the improvements made, the available evidence on quality, completion of the remaining requirements, and how effectively users are supported to understand and use the statistics.

Yours sincerely

Ed Humpherson

Director General for OSR