Dear James,
Thank you for your update setting out your plans to review alternative release times for economic statistics. As detailed in our previous correspondence and under our Alternative Release Times (ART) policy, we expect producers to regularly review ARTs to ensure their decisions continue to serve the interests of statistics users and uphold the public good.
Your letter outlines how you plan to improve the ONS website and statistical releases to better meet user needs, supported by a new content management system and data catalogue API. As part of this streamlining, we welcome your commitment to consider all alternative release times rather than limiting the review to a binary choice between 07:00 and 09:30. We recommend that you collaborate with the devolved administrations to consider the broader implications for the timing of releases.
We understand that you will continue to report on the review during your quarterly updates in 2026 ensuring that decisions around future alternative release times are clearly communicated and demonstrably evidence based.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
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