The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has suspended the official statistics status of the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) following quality concerns identified in its review, alongside a request by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) who produce the statistics.
The decision was prompted after a comprehensive review by OSR found that declining response rates and a lack of investment have significantly impacted the quality of the survey data, which measures the financial wellbeing of households across Great Britain.
This survey began in 2006, to provide crucial economic data on assets, savings, debt and retirement planning that informs state pension levels, academic research, and both monetary and fiscal policy development.
The regulator’s report identifies that despite ONS’s efforts to mitigate pandemic impacts, the statistics “are no longer of sufficient value or quality to meet users’ needs” and therefore no longer comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
The suspension applies immediately to the most recently published round 8 data and will continue for all future releases until ONS can demonstrate significant improvements. Five specific requirements have been outlined that ONS must address to improve these statistics, with regular progress reports beginning in September 2025.
ONS have committed to developing a plan for the collection and processing work required to bring wealth statistics back to the standard needed for users, which they intend to publish in the Autumn.
Ed Humpherson, DG Regulation concluded:
“The wealth and assets survey is an important source of information on distribution of wealth in the UK and is used widely by analysts and policy makers. We welcome the ONS’s request to remove the accreditation, which is consistent with the report we are publishing today. We have outlined the actions ONS need to take in order to restore the quality of these statistics and the confidence of their users.”
Related Links:
Statistics from the Wealth and Assets Survey review
Alex Lambert and Jen Woolford to Ed Humpherson – Household Wealth Assets – 13 June 2025
Notes to editors:
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). OSR’s Director General, Ed Humpherson, reports directly to the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority Board, Sir Robert Chote. The Director General, and OSR, have wide discretion in highlighting good practice and reporting concerns with the production and use of statistics publicly.
OSR’s work is overseen by the Board’s regulation committee (made up of non-executive directors, and with no statistical producer in attendance). OSR’s budget is proposed by the Board’s regulation committee and endorsed by the Board.
For media enquiries please email regulation@statistics.gov.uk