Official statistics

Key facts

Official statistics

Official statistics are statistics produced by Crown bodies and other organisations listed within an Official Statistics Order (set out in the Annex), on behalf of the UK government or devolved administrations. They provide a factual basis for assessment and decisions on economic, social and environmental issues at all levels of society.

Sub-sets of official statistics include accredited official statistics and official statistics in development.

Accredited official statistics

Accredited official statistics are a sub-set of official statistics that have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation and confirmed as complying with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code). OSR maintains a comprehensive list of the official statistics that it has reviewed and accredited. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act (2007).

In cases of serious non-compliance with the Code OSR will suspend or cancel the accreditation. An improvement notice will be issued by OSR explaining the decision and detailing the areas to be addressed, and an entry will be made in the List of Cancelled or Suspended Accreditations (previously called the Register of De-designations). Where a producer requests a cancellation of the accreditation and has plans for addressing the improvement areas within one year, OSR will suspend the accreditation, for the duration and reassess the statistics once the improvements are complete.

Official statistics in development

Official statistics in development are official statistics that are undergoing a development; they may be new or existing statistics, and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice. They were formerly known as ‘experimental statistics’.

Official statistics in development is a temporary label. Even though the statistics are going through development and testing, the producer is confident that they are useful. The producer provides information with the statistics about the nature of the development and any implications for their quality, to guide the appropriate use of the figures.

After the development is complete and following testing with users, the producer will decide if the statistics should continue to be published. Producers can then remove the ‘in development’ label. They should always be clear with users why they are confident that their official statistics are suitable for use.

Official statistics policies

OSR’s Policy and Standards team develops policies and standards related to the Code of Practice for Statistics. These include Official Statistics Policies.