Dear Alex, Darren

ONS’s transformation of the Labour Force Survey (TLFS)

Since our initial letter in November 2022, we have continued to liaise with your teams as we review ONS’s transformation of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) against the Code of Practice for Statistics. We have today published a progress report, providing a summary of progress made against our initial recommendations. We have also identified an additional recommendation that has emerged as the transformation work has developed.

The parallel run and the development of statistical methods should be key focus areas over the coming months to ensure the TLFS data meets high statistical standards before the decision to switch off the current LFS is made. Regular and insightful communication is essential to fully engage and prepare users for the transition over to the transformed survey.

We recognise that the transformation of the LFS continues to be complex and I would like to thank your team for their continued positive engagement with us on this review. We will continue our regular liaison with the team, and review progress against each of the deadlines outlined in this letter, as part of considering the continued National Statistics status of ONS’s labour market statistics as they move from being produced from the LFS to the TLFS. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspects of this letter and accompanying progress report.

I am copying this letter to Rachel Skentelbery, Deputy Head of Profession for Statistics at ONS.

Yours sincerely

Mark Pont

Assessment Programme Lead