Ed Humpherson to Rachel Skentelbery: Alternative Release Time for all future UK Economic Accounts (UKEA) publications

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for your letter requesting an alternative release time for future publications of the UK Economic Accounts (UKEA) datasets.

We understand that the current arrangements involve releasing aggregated data at 07:00 as part of the Balance of Payments and Sector Accounts publications. We also recognise that users have expressed a clear and increasing demand for timely access to the country level breakdowns contained within the UKEA datasets. Providing these breakdowns at a consistent and predictable time is essential to ensuring the statistics remain relevant, accessible, and responsive to user needs.

Having reviewed the ONS’s proposal, we support the rationale for adjusting the release time. Aligning the release of the country level UKEA data with the publication of the aggregate series will enhance coherence across related outputs and improve the usability of these statistics. We are satisfied that the proposed change is aligned with our Alternative Release Times Policy and consistent with the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics, particularly those relating to transparency, accessibility, and meeting the needs of users.

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

Yours sincerely,

Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR