Dear Grant, 

Alternative release time for Public Sector Classification Guide and Forward Work Plan

Thank you for your correspondence on 25 August 2022, requesting an alternative release time of 7am for the publication of ONS’s Public Sector Classification Guide and Forward Work Plan on 31 August 2022.

We understand that the August release of the Public Sector Classification Guide and Forward Work Plan will include a classification of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) in Great Britain.

We appreciate that publishing the classification has the potential to impact market sensitive data, including consumer price inflation statistics, and we support your request to publish outside UK market hours, specifically at 7am, on 31 August, to ensure orderly release and equal access to information.

We expect that future releases of the Public Sector Classification Guide and Forward Work Plan will adhere to the standard release time of 9:30am. If ONS considers there is a need for another ART in the future, this will be considered as a separate further request.

Please ensure that the time of the August release is made public and that the reasons for the alternative release time are clearly outlined. 

Yours sincerely

Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation