Introduction to the review
In September 2019, HMRC invited the Office for Statistics Regulation to carry out a review of the principles and processes underpinning the quality of HMRC’s official statistics. This review was proactively initiated after HMRC identified a significant error in published Corporation Tax receipt statistics, which affected the period from April 2011 to July 2019.
Aim and scope of the review
The aim of our review was to provide an independent assessment of the approach that HMRC takes to manage quality and risk in the production of its official statistics and to identify potential improvements. We appreciate that producers of statistics will never eliminate errors entirely: the recommendations we present in this report focus on improvements that HMRC should make to help minimise the risk of issues with its statistics in the future.
Related links:
Ed Humpherson to Ruth Stanier: Strengthening the quality of HMRC’s official statistics
Ed Humpherson to Jim Harra: Strengthening the quality of HMRC’s official statistics
Ed Humpherson to Sean Whellams: Review of HMRC statistical quality management