Exemptions are rare. They have mainly been agreed where it is not possible to give contact information for the responsible statistician for security reasons.
Prior to a change to the Code of Practice of Statistics in May 2022, an exemption was required to release statistics at a time other than 9.30am. The May 2022 change to practice T3.6 enabled alternative release times (ARTs) to be used, when granted by the Director General for Regulation. Release time exemptions that were granted before May 2022 have been converted to alternative release times. See our policy page for further information and the list of statistics granted an ART.
Should circumstances call for an exemption for a specific practice, Heads of Profession should raise the matter with the Director General for Regulation, Ed Humpherson. The Office for Statistics Regulation supports sensible changes to existing production practices and will quickly consider any requests for exemptions that are in the public interest.
T2.9 In rare circumstances, an organisation may not be able to implement a specific practice of the Code. In this situation, the Chief Statistician/Head of Profession for Statistics should request an exemption from that practice of the Code from the Director General for Regulation and publish details of the exemption.
Exemptions granted by the Director General for Regulation on behalf of the UK Statistics Authority