Dear Grant, Jane,
We have independently reviewed the actions that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have taken to address the six requirements outlined in our assessment report. On behalf of the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, I am pleased to confirm that they comply with the standards of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled as accredited official statistics. The detail supporting our judgement is included in the annex to this letter.
Pay As You Earn Real Time Information (PAYE RTI) data provide timely and valuable insights into employment and earnings trends, giving a comprehensive view of the UK workforce. The current state of the UK labour market affects many economic outcomes, and so it is vital that decision-makers have good-quality data.
We note that some of our requirements have necessitated detailed and lengthy research and collaborative working and recognise that HMRC and ONS have worked diligently to respond to all the requirements set out in the assessment. We particularly welcome the extra insight that has been published, helping users understand the coherence of the labour market data, and the improved accessibility of the data. As data sources and methodologies for other labour market statistics evolve, it is important that users can still understand the comparability and coherence of the full suite of labour market statistics.
I would like to thank your team for its open and constructive engagement throughout our assessment and for your ongoing commitment to improving these statistics.
I am copying this letter to Sean Whellams, Head of Profession for Statistics at HMRC, and Rachel Skentelbery, Deputy Head of Profession for Statistics at ONS.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
Review of Actions Taken in Response to Assessment Report 377: Statistics about Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, UK co-produced by HMRC and ONS
Requirement 1: To help users navigate and understand the coherence and comparability of labour market data available ONS should explain how the PAYE RTI statistics relate to other equivalent labour market statistics in a way that helps the full range of users understand how the different data sources relate to each output and the respective strengths of different figures to answer key questions about the UK’s labour market.
Actions taken by ONS: The recently published ONS article Reconciliation of estimates of jobs, UK: April 2025 focuses on the comparison of the latest Workforce Jobs (WFJ) estimates with the equivalent estimates of jobs from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and includes a section on the comparability of WFJ, LFS and PAYE RTI employees.
The monthly Labour Market Overview bulletins do explain what the PAYE RTI data should be used for.
Information on coherence between the LFS and PAYE RTI is included in the latest LFS quality update (May 2025). ONS has included an explanation of the coherence and uses of other sources of data on jobs in the latest PAYE RTI bulletin released on 17 July.
The ONS Labour Market team is also working with an agency design contractor alongside the ONS Communications and Digital Publishing team to develop a set of user stories as a way of exploring new ways of helping users select the right data for their needs.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider this requirement to be met. ONS has published information to help users understand the coherence of the labour market data using different sources, enabling users understand more about the comparability of the labour market data.
Requirement 2: To ensure that users’ needs are fully understood, and use of the PAYE RTI statistics is well supported:
(a) HMRC and ONS should broaden their user engagement activities to harness a wide range of user views in the ongoing development of these statistics.
(b) HMRC and ONS should communicate statistical development plans, manage user expectations about what further value can be obtained from the data and how future developments are being prioritised.
Actions taken by HMRC and ONS:
a) HMRC ran a consultation with users from 16 January to 10 April 2025. This asked for users’ views on proposed changes to its official statistics publications. ONS and HMRC shared updates to the RTI Statistics Steering Group and Central Local Information Partnership (CLIP) on the consultation and have ongoing engagement with users. HMRC has expanded the engagement section of the bulletin to explain the user engagement activities.
HMRC have identified additional breakdowns and tables that would benefit users, based on repeated Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and feedback collected through cross-governmental steering groups. These developments include, for example, a public/private ownership split of measures, a breakdown by gender and further regional breakdowns.
b) The update that ONS published in December 2024 outlines the priorities for developing the statistics. The December 2024 bulletin also explained changes to the seasonal adjustment model following an investigation after users raised concerns about unusual pay growth in some months.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider this requirement to be met. HMRC and ONS have widened their engagement activities, enabling a wider range of users to feed in their views. ONS has published information about the development plans for the statistics.
Requirement 3: To help enhance the value offered by the statistics by supporting users’ wider analysis needs, HMRC and ONS should review the way PAYE RTI statistics are currently disseminated, and implement any improvements needed. This user focused review should include considering ways to improve navigation around the data tables within Excel, making data more widely available, for example through NOMIS and better promoting the Datalab service.
Actions taken by HMRC and ONS: An example spreadsheet is linked in the January 2025 statistical bulletin with invitations for user feedback. The example spreadsheets show changes to layout and improved navigation, based on accessibility guidelines and user feedback. HMRC and ONS have requested user feedback on the example tables and will incorporate these changes into the monthly publication.
Based on the feedback, HMRC is working with ONS to publish accessible versions of the data tables, with improved layouts and better navigation between tables. In early 2025, PAYE RTI data were made available through the ONS Integrated Data Service. Users are advised in the statistical bulletin that they may access a sample of RTI data through HMRC’s Datalab, with a link provided to guidance on how to get more information and how to apply for access.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider this requirement to be met. We welcome the publication of the example spreadsheet and the plans to continue to do so to help users get used to the new, more-accessible format. Users are also guided to the micro-data for further research.
Requirement 4: To help maximise insight and the potential public value of the PAYE RTI data HMRC and ONS should consider ways to support user needs for additional insight by how any data gaps could be filled, whether that be through any ad-hoc analyses or additions to the regular publication if helpful and feasible.
Action taken by HMRC and ONS: ONS published an update on its labour market transformation plans on 3 December 2024. Monthly Labour Market Overview bulletins provide insight for users on the wider context of the labour market and the uses of the PAYE RTI. ONS’s Earnings Symposium on 29 April 2025 showcased some opportunities for where PAYE RTI data could be linked, for example, to offer new insights on the decline in the number of people classified as self-employed since the pandemic, and to help better understand bias in non-responding households.
HMRC has strengthened internal links to other analytical teams so that ad hoc requests from other government departments and internal sources can be passed on to those analytical teams. HMRC has promoted the use of its Datalab, which has seen an increase in requests linked to RTI data over the last few years. HMRC continues to support those requests and frequently provides guidance on what is possible using the RTI data and how to go about the different kinds of analysis requested.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider the requirement to be met. ONS and HMRC are maximising insight, using data linkage, and publishing ad hoc analyses to meet users’ needs.
Requirement 5: To support user confidence in the recent methodological changes and support ongoing understanding and development of the statistics:
(a) HMRC should publish its analysis and evaluation of the implementation of the new imputation method explaining the impact on the quality of the statistics.
(b) More widely, HMRC and ONS should update the quality and methodology documentation in ways that meet the needs of both expert and non-expert users.
Actions taken by HMRC and ONS:
a) In March 2024 HMRC and ONS published a report evaluating the imputation changes.
b) HMRC has developed improved methodology documentation that is clearer to users. The more user-friendly methodology documentation was published on 25 July 2025.
HMRC involved OSR in the quality assurance of its new methodology document and shared a version with the RTI Statistics Steering Group for further feedback.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider this requirement to be met.
Requirement 6: To help provide assurances around the quality of the published statistics, HMRC and ONS should publish information about the start-to-end quality assurance process for PAYE RTI statistics.
Actions taken by HMRC: HMRC has developed a Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) report and improved methodology documentation that is clearer to users. The QAAD report was published in January 2025. A more user-friendly methodology documentation was published on 25 July 2025.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence: We consider this requirement to be met.