Context and timeline

In July 2024 we initiated a review of economic statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). OSR launched the review in response to systemic issues identified within assessment reports we had undertaken on individual ONS economic statistics, including declining survey response rates, other quality issues and stakeholder concerns about similar issues.

We published an interim report in April 2025, and a final report in November 2025. At our request, in December 2025, ONS published its first quarterly reports detailing its progress on its plans to improve key economic statistics. This report sets out our response.

Our interim report concluded that ONS needed to take urgent action to rebuild trust in its core economic statistics and placed four immediate requirements on ONS. These requirements asked ONS to provide greater clarity about its core purpose, re-prioritise resources to reflect this, and take urgent steps to recover key surveys.

As OSR was progressing its systemic review, Sir Robert Devereux undertook a review into ONS’s organisation and culture. Sir Robert’s review judged that the problems with ONS’s core economic statistics reflected issues with its organisation and culture, including ineffective prioritisation.

In response to the requirements from our interim report, and to the subsequent Devereux review recommendations, in June 2025 ONS published its Plan for Economic Statistics and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan for Economic Statistics. These plans set out ONS’s intention and planned steps to restore quality and confidence in its economic statistics.

The final report confirmed the findings of the interim report and judged that, while the initial steps that ONS had taken in response to the interim report represented good progress, more action was needed. The report also set out OSR’s future approach to the regulation of ONS’s economic statistics, including regular assessments of reports published by ONS demonstrating its progress.

In December 2025, ONS published its first planned quarterly reports on its progress in implementing its improvement plans. Alongside an overarching strategic improvement update, ONS published reports on its progress implementing its Plan for Economic Statistics and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan since June 2025. It also published The data that matter – a new approach to critical data sources for core statistics, outlining the principles, priorities and practical initiatives underpinning how data are sourced and used.