Dear Ed,
Confirmation of Accredited Official Statistics Status: Northern Ireland Business Expenditure on Research and Development (NI BERD)
Thank you for your letter dated 20th November 2025, which set out the outcome of the Review of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics for Northern Ireland BERD statistics.
Myself and the team are delighted that the review has found that Northern Ireland BERD statistics comply with the standards of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be reinstated as accredited official statistics.
I am extremely grateful for all the work that our small team at NISRA have delivered to re-establish the NI BERD statistics series. I am also grateful to:
- colleagues in the R&D and methodology teams at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) who, along with our team, worked well together to improve these statistics.
- those who responded to the NISRA R&D user consultation, whose high expectations and valuable feedback have motivated us to continue improving and delivering the best possible data for users.
- the businesses who support us through the provision of their R&D related information – without their participation and co-operation none of this would be possible.
I wanted to put on record our appreciation for all of the work that you and your team at the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) put into the compliance review and for the professional manner that the team engaged with us here at NISRA. At NISRA, we continue to value the independent perspective, insight and challenge that the OSR brings through its regulatory work.
The team will take encouragement from the insights provided in your review and will continue to endeavour to proactively maintain both open and positive engagement with our users, as well as our ongoing commitment to improving these statistics.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Philip Wales