Dear Ian

Assessment of Population Estimates and Projections

Thank you for the correspondence outlining the actions that have been taken to address the requirements in Assessment Report number 309 on Population Estimates and Projections.

On behalf of the Board of the Statistics Authority, I have reviewed these on the advice of the Assessment team and I am pleased to confirm the designation of: Annual Mid-year Population Estimates; Annual Small Area Population Estimates; Estimates of the Very Old (including Centenarians) for England and Wales, United Kingdom; Population estimates by marital status and living arrangements; National Population Projections and Sub-national Population Projections.

We look forward to reviewing further evidence about the experimental statistics that are published in the Annual Small Area Population Estimates to determine whether we can recommend to the Board of the Statistics Authority that it confirms their designation as National Statistics before they are next published.

Population statistics are central to the UK’s statistical infrastructure and I have been very impressed with your approach to ensuring the quality of the data sources that you use to produce the various estimates and projections. I am particularly pleased that you have plans for activities to address what you have learned from putting together your data quality reports and sharing your experiences with other producers across ONS. I am sure that this quality information will be of interest to producers of estimates and projections in the devolved administrations as well. Your commitment to sound methods is also very apparent to me through the methodological reviews you have carried out during this assessment. I look forward to seeing the benefits of this ongoing work on the further development of the
population estimates and projections and on the way that ONS assures the quality of its data.

I commend the statisticians for all of their work to meet the standards set by the Code of Practice. I have been impressed with the amount of effort the teams have put into this and the determination they have showed to retain the National Statistics status of the various population estimates and projections included in this assessment.

National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value and is something to be celebrated. We invite you to include a statement alongside the statistics which reflects the National Statistics status. You may wish to base your statement on the boilerplate text included within the Assessment Report.

Please feel free to discuss any aspect of this with us at any time. I am copying this letter to John Pullinger, the National Statistician.

Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson