Monitoring progress

ONS’s progress reports rely heavily on text and include only a brief overarching summary of progress against milestones identified in the original plans, rather than a comprehensive presentation.

The report of progress on the Plan for Economic Statistics notes that, of the 40 milestones planned for delivery in 2025/26, 5 have been delivered, 15 are on track, 15 are on track but face challenges, and 5 are at risk. It then discusses progress in individual output areas. A similar approach is taken in respect of the actions set out in the Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan.

The original lists of milestones and actions were very lengthy and often referenced deadlines only in terms of “end of financial year”. They included regular outputs (such as the Blue Book) and commitments that pre-date the new plans, as well as new developments. The milestones covered both major stakeholder-facing outputs and enabling actions.

Based on the published progress reports, it is difficult to make an overall assessment of the extent to which progress is on track, of risks and contingencies, and – crucially – of the relative importance to users of specific delays or other changes to plans.

It would increase transparency if, in future reports, information on progress were summarised more succinctly. This summary could take the form of a straightforward table focused on user-facing outcomes, presented on a prioritised basis, and with “RAG” status identified. Reporting should include clear deadlines, be clear when deadlines change, and where appropriate provide an assessment of delivery risk.

Stakeholder views, including as expressed in the stakeholder engagement forum, should be reflected in the content and format of the progress summary.

Making such improvements to reporting could both increase transparency and reduce the burden associated with producing a quarterly report.

More generally, improvements to ONS’s website should facilitate the monitoring of progress by improving the accessibility of new outputs (including progress reports). It would be helpful to include a date for all material published on the website, which is not currently always the case.

Recommendation 1: To increase the usefulness of updates for users, ONS should ensure future updates are more succinct, accessible and user focused.