Dear Stephanie
Suspension of the accredited official statistics status for the estimates for Wales produced from the Annual Population Survey
Thank you for your letter setting out your actions following the suspension of the accredited official statistics status for labour market statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), on which the Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates are based.
Based on your findings, we agree to your request to temporarily remove the accredited official statistics status from the following APS-based outputs published today:
As you explain in your letter, this approach ensures a clear and coherent approach for users of all APS estimates.
We understand that this outcome means that both the key sources of labour market estimates for Wales will no longer be accredited official statistics and understand that this will pose challenges for users. We welcome your plans to continue to work with ONS on the communication of labour market estimates for Wales to ensure they are used appropriately whilst a suspension of accreditation is in place, and your plans to ask ONS to undertake analysis to help inform further understanding around the APS, particularly regarding the representativeness of the sample for Wales.
Our Labour Market and Welfare domain team will continue to engage with your team on this matter.
Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
Related Links:
Michael Keoghan to Siobhan Tuohy-Smith: Request to suspend APS accreditation