OSR publishes its response to ONS’ third quarterly update on economic statistics
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has published its response to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) third quarterly update on progress with economic statistics. Read OSR’s full response.
The July 2026 update marks a further and important step in ONS’s response to the findings of OSR’s systemic review. OSR welcomes evidence of stronger leadership, greater transparency and a renewed focus on engagement with users. The clearer management of the Surveys and Economic Statistics portfolio, sharper priorities and indicators, and more open reporting of sequencing, deferral and delivery risks give users a clearer view of progress.
OSR judges that the four immediate requirements set out in its April 2025 interim report are met, with delivery and implementation continuing. ONS has also largely met the recommendation to make its updates more succinct, accessible and user focused. However, further evidence is still needed on resource allocation, and the recommendation on more disaggregated cost information remains only partially met until that information is published and supports users’ understanding of resource trade-offs.
Significant risks remain because of the scale and complexity of the challenges ONS faces. Future reporting should demonstrate that the reset delivery baseline is credible and stable, improve transparency on survey response and sample performance, report clearly on quality-review findings and residual risks, and show more clearly how improvements benefit users.
In light of the progress made, OSR intends to move from quarterly to annual published assessments. ONS should continue to publish quarterly progress updates, while OSR will maintain oversight through its wider regulatory work programme, engagement with ONS and users, and continued monitoring of quality, delivery and risk across priority economic statistics.
Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, said:
“ONS’s July update reflects important progress. Stronger leadership, greater transparency and a clearer focus on priorities are giving users a better view of delivery and risk.
“However, significant challenges remain. ONS must now demonstrate sustained delivery, be clearer about resource trade-offs and show how improvements are strengthening the quality, resilience and public value of economic statistics.”
Read the letter from Ed Humpherson to James Benford
Notes to editors
- OSR began its systemic review of ONS economic statistics in July 2024, publishing an interim report in April 2025 and a final report in November 2025.
- ONS has published a plan for Economic Statistics, committing to publishing quarterly public progress updates. OSR responded to the first update in January 2026 and the second in May 2026.
- The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) provides independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK, and aims to enhance public confidence in the trustworthiness, quality and value of statistics produced by government. OSR regulates statistics by setting the standards official statistics must meet in the Code of Practice for Statistics. We ensure that producers of official statistics uphold these standards by conducting assessments against the Code. Those which meet the standards are given accredited official statistics status, indicating that they meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value. We also report publicly on systemwide issues and on the way that statistics are being used, celebrating when the standards are upheld and challenging publicly when they are not. OSR is independent from government ministers, and separate from producers of statistics, including the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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