Suspension and cancellation of accreditation

Introduction

Under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, the UK Statistics Authority (the Authority) is the body with the authority to designate official statistics (OS) publications as accredited official statistics (AOS). Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. This is done via a formal assessment of official statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code). The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) conducts assessments on behalf of the Authority as its regulatory arm. Under the same legislation, the Authority also has the responsibility (delegated to OSR) to determine whether AOS still meet the Code and to remove accreditation where appropriate.

Suspension/cancellation of accreditation occurs when the degree of non-compliance with the Code of Practice is too considerable to allow the accreditation to continue. This results in the removal of the AOS badge and other related language from an official statistics (OS) publication, and the removal the publication from the list of AOS. This is usually prospective (for future releases) but can be retrospective.

When is removal of accreditation necessary?

From time to time some statistics might not fully meet some of the standards of the code, but suspension/cancellation of accreditation is normally only considered where standards fall significantly below the expectations of the Code. Our concerns are greatest where there is a risk that users will be materially misled by the statistics, for example due to severe quality issues, and have misplaced confidence in the statistics because they display an AOS badge. For more information on the difference between suspension vs cancellation, please see the section on this below.

Examples of previous cases where accreditation was removed:

Public Health Scotland, Breast cancer screening statistics (February 2026): Suspended due to data quality issues affecting breast cancer data for Scotland, which affected all statistics published from 2015/16 onwards.
Office for National Statistics, Gender identity, England and Wales: Census 2021 (September 2024): Cancelled due to uncertainty surrounding responses to the Census 2021 question on gender identity.
Welsh Government, Welsh monthly Labour Market Overview outputs (May 2024): Suspended due to Labour Force Survey-based estimates being used to produce the statistics. The quality of Labour Force Survey-based estimates was impacted by declining response rates.

More examples are listed in the Cancelled/suspended accreditations list on the OSR website.

Process to request the removal of accreditation from a statistical publication

There are two main ways in which OSR can remove accreditation from AOS. Accreditation might be removed based on the findings of a compliance review initiated and undertaken by OSR or removal can be requested by a producer and considered for approval by OSR. The process to request removal of accreditation has been detailed below. In cases where the need to remove accreditation has been identified as part of an OSR initiated compliance review, the process is the same for producers but skips the first three steps, as the issues would be raised by OSR rather than the producer.

Step 1

A statistics producer identifies that an accredited official statistics (AOS) publication no longer meets the standards of the Code.

Step 2

The producer raises their concerns with their department’s Head of Profession for statistics (HoP). The HoP should assess whether the issues are considerable enough to report concerns to the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

Step 3

The HoP sends a request for removal of accreditation, a summary of their concerns and a list of which statistics are impacted to the Director General for Regulation (DGR) via regulation@statistics.gov.uk

Step 4

The appropriate OSR domain team will gather evidence from the producer and will review the case. The domain team will request more information where appropriate.

Step 5

The OSR Head of Assessment and DGR review the case and the DGR will decide whether to approve or reject the request.

Step 6

OSR will inform the HoP and statistics producer of the decision. If the decision is to remove accreditation from the statistics, OSR will also indicate whether the accrediation is to be cancelled or suspended.

Step 7

The HoP can then write to the OSR DGR requesting that the accreditation be removed. This letter should give reasoning for the request. The DGR will write a response stating that the accreditation has been removed. This correspondence will be published on the OSR website.

Step 8

The producer should remove the AOS badge from the statistics and all other language that would indicate the statistics are accredited.

Step 9

If the accreditation has been cancelled then the producer will need to request an assessment to regain accreditation. If the accreditation has been suspended, OSR will provide the producer requirements that should be implemented over the following 12-months to regain accreditation. The producer should keep users informed of progress towards these requirements.

Step 10

Following the 12-month period OSR will assess if the statistics have met the requirements. If the requirements have been met then the statistics will be re-accredited. If the requirements have not been met then the accreditation will be cancelled.

Step 11

If the statistics are re-accredited the producer should reinstate the AOS badge and language in the statistics publication.

Step 12

OSR will continue to engage with the producer as usual. Offering support where needed.

We expect all producers to assure themselves that their statistics comply with the Code of Practice before approaching us to discuss the timing of an assessment focused on re-accreditation. In particular we expect that producers have satisfied themselves that they have addressed all the issues raised. We have a published a self-evaluation tool producers can use to do this. Individual statistics teams should also seek support and advice from their Chief Statistician, Lead Official, Head of Profession and, in the case of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the StatHoPOffice.

Suspension vs cancellation

Cancellation

Cancellation is when the accreditation is permanently removed from AOS. Cancellation is considered if remedial action to address the issues identified cannot be undertaken within a 12-month window following de-accreditation.

Steps following cancellation include the following:

OSR will write to the producer to notify it that the accreditation has been cancelled and that the badge and any mention of accreditation should be removed from the statistics.
OSR will update the suspensions/cancellations list and AOS list to reflect the change.

Suspension

If it is thought that necessary improvements can be addressed within 12 months, OSR will suspend the accreditation while those actions are taken. Unlike cancellation, suspension only temporarily removes accreditation, with the aim to review the statistics’ compliance after 12 months. For this 12-month period, the statistics will have their accreditation removed, including the removal of any language related to accreditation and the badge.

Steps following suspension include the following:

OSR will write to the producer informing them that the accreditation has been suspended and that the badge and any mention of accreditation should be removed from the statistics.
OSR will update the suspensions/cancellations list and AOS list to reflect the change.
OSR will engage with the producer through usual routes to understand progress and likely timelines for reviewing the statistics after 12 months.

Re-accreditation

Following a suspension or cancellation, an OS publication can regain its accreditation through an assessment by OSR against the standards of the Code of Practice. The process of re-accreditation is different depending on whether the accreditation was cancelled or suspended.

Cancelled accreditation

Unlike with suspensions, when accreditation is cancelled there will be no timescale in which the statistics are expected to meet the standards of the Code to regain accreditation. If the producer wishes for the statistics to be re-accredited, they must request that OSR complete an assessment.

Suspended accreditation

If accreditation has been suspended, the producer has 12 months to address all requirements for the statistics. OSR and the producer will plan to meet at the end of the 12-month period. At this meeting, the producer and OSR should discuss progress against meeting the requirements, with two outcomes:

If preliminary investigation indicates the requirements have been met at this stage, an assessment to determine if the statistics can be re-accredited will be arranged.
If the producer informs OSR that not all the requirements have been met, the time needed to meet requirements can be extended if there is little remaining work. However, if the remaining work is considerable, cancellation will be considered.

If an assessment is conducted, there are two possible outcomes:

If the results of the assessment show adherence to the Code, then the statistics will be re-accredited. OSR will publish the findings of the assessment and write to the producer informing them that the statistics have been re-accredited. The producer must then reinstate the AOS badge.
If the statistics still do not meet the requirements of the Code, then the accreditation will be cancelled. OSR will publish the outcome of the assessment and write to the producer to inform them.

Frequently asked questions

Can a producer request a suspension/cancellation of its own AOS?

Producers are welcome to contact OSR with concerns they have about AOS they publish. OSR will then engage with the producer to understand whether suspension or cancellation is appropriate for the AOS. If yes, the producer then has the opportunity to write to OSR formally requesting that the accreditation be removed.

Can a producer remove the AOS badge if it feels an AOS publication no longer meets the standards of the Code?

A producer cannot remove accreditation from its own statistics, even if its concerns are valid; OSR has the final say as to whether accreditation should be suspended/cancelled, and AOS are not considered to have had their accreditation removed unless OSR has written directly to the producer stating so.

How is OSR alerted to AOS that don’t meet standards of the Code?

There are multiple channels through which OSR can be alerted to issues with AOS. A producer can contact OSR informing us that an AOS publication it publishes no longer meets the standards of the Code. OSR can also internally identify non-compliance through our routine regulatory work, including compliance reviews, casework and regular producer engagement.

How should statistics be labelled following removal of accreditation?

Statistics that have their accreditation removed should either be labelled as official statistics or as official statistics in development. For advice on whether it is appropriate to label statistics as in development, please see our guidance on official statistics in development.

Should removal of accreditation be considered if changes are made to the way AOS are produced?

It is good to be conscious of the possible need to remove the accreditation – it is needed only if the changes impact adherence to the Code. The standards of the Code encourage producers to continually improve statistics to meet the needs of users and so changes to the way statistics are produced is expected. Therefore, OSR only needs to be consulted regarding removal of the accreditation if Code compliance is likely to be impacted.

For more useful information please see the Accredited Official Statistics Policy