Ed Humpherson to Stephanie Howarth: National Survey for Wales accreditation status
Dear Stephanie,
National Survey for Wales accreditation status
Thank you for your letter of 14 October requesting that the accreditation status of statistics derived from the National Survey for Wales is changed from suspended to cancelled. As 12 months have passed since the accreditation was suspended, in line with our guidance I agree with your request and have cancelled the accreditation. Welsh Government should communicate this change clearly to users and update relevant webpages accordingly.
I recognise the considerable work that Welsh Government has undertaken to redesign the National Survey for Wales following the fieldwork issues experienced from 2024 to 2025. I also welcome your update that fieldwork for the new online-first design is underway and progressing well. I note that Welsh Government expects the redesigned survey to deliver an increased sample size that should help to improve the quality of the estimates at lower breakdowns.
I support Welsh Government’s ambition to seek accreditation on first outputs in July 2027. We will continue to engage with your team as the redesigned survey develops and will be happy to discuss the most appropriate timing for a future review of these statistics once you are assured that the outputs comply fully with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
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