Office for Statistics Regulation

  1. Ed Humpherson to Richard Elliott, Alison Byrne and Mary Gregory: Assessment of the 2031 censuses in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Richard Elliott, Director, Census and Population Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency  Alison Byrne, Chief Executive, National Records of Scotland  Mary Gregory, Executive Director, Population, Census and Social Statistics, Office for National Statistics    Dear all, I am writing to set out the Office for Statistics Regulation’s (OSR) intended approach to regulating 2031 census outputs across the […]

  2. Ed Humpherson to Alison Byrne: 2022 Census in Scotland, phase 3 assessment report

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: National Records of Scotland

    Dear Alison Today we have published our phase 3 assessment report of the 2022 Census in Scotland. This report, our third and final report, focussed on assessing how well NRS’s census outputs have met users’ needs and revisited the requirements outlined in our phase 2 report published in 2023. On behalf of the Board of […]

  3. Ed Humpherson to John Wilkins: Metrics in the violence against women and girls strategy

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Home Office

    Dear John, We welcome the publication of the UK Government’s new violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy, Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls. The performance framework used to monitor progress on the strategy comprises a headline metric, several supporting headline metrics and a […]

  4. Ed Humpherson to Mary Gregory: Accreditation of the 2021 Census in England and Wales outputs and Review of mid-2024 population estimates for England and Wales

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Office for National Statistics

    Dear Mary, I am writing to provide updates on two recent pieces of regulatory work that we have undertaken in relation to population statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Confirmation of accreditation of the 2021 Census in England and Wales outputs (excluding gender identity statistics) We have reviewed the actions that ONS […]

  5. Ed Humpherson to Alastair McAlpine: Request for assessment of the new fraud and computer misuse questions in the SCJS

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Scottish Government

    Dear Alastair,  Thank you for your letter of 22 April requesting an assessment of the new fraud and computer misuse estimates from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), produced by Scottish Government.  Given the public value of information on fraud and computer misuse victimisation, I welcome your aspiration to publicly demonstrate compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. I am pleased to confirm that our teams have agreed the […]

  6. Alastair McAlpine to Ed Humpherson: Request for assessment of the new fraud and computer misuse questions in the SCJS

    Sent from: Scottish Government

    Sent to: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Dear Ed, I am writing as the Chief Statistician for the Scottish Government. For the first time in 2023/24, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) was expanded to collect new information on adult experiences of fraud and computer misuse. This was developed following interest from users, to keep the SCJS in line with the changing […]

  7. Ed Humpherson to John Wilkins: Asylum Seeker Hotel Population Statistics

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Home Office

    Dear John,   Thank you for your letter informing me of the unscheduled release of an internal Home Office figure that appears similar to an upcoming official statistic from the Asylum Seeker Hotel Population Statistics series. I agree with your view that this is a breach of the Code of Practice for Statistics.  I note your reasons for deciding not to produce an ad-hoc release for the figure in line with published guidance on the use […]

  8. James Benford to Ed Humpherson: ONS Reports on Progress with Economic Statistics, April 2026: OSR response

    Sent from: Office for National Statistics

    Sent to: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Dear Ed, Thank you for your comments on the second progress report on the Economic Statistics and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plans. I welcome your recognition of the progress we are making and of our transparent approach with regards to the challenges that we are facing and how we are adjusting priorities in response.  As […]

  9. Ed Humpherson to James Benford: ONS Reports on Progress with Economic Statistics, April 2026: OSR response

    Sent from: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Sent to: Office for National Statistics

    Dear James, We have today published our response to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s second quarterly progress report on its Plan for Economic Statistics and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan. Our response assesses ONS’s progress in addressing the findings of OSR’s systemic review of its economic statistics, including our interim and final report, and the recommendations of […]

  10. John Wilkins to Ed Humpherson: Asylum Seeker Hotel Population Statistics

    Sent from: Home Office

    Sent to: Office for Statistics Regulation

    Dear Ed, I am writing to inform you that I have become aware of the unscheduled release of an internal Home Office figure that appears similar to an upcoming official statistic from our Asylum Seeker Hotel Population Statistics series. Despite not being released publicly through formal channels, a figure for the number of asylum seekers […]