The UK’s statistics regulator has ordered the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to overhaul its data collection methods within four weeks following mounting concerns about the reliability of economic data that influence government and Bank of England decisions. The intervention by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) follows a series of delays and quality issues with key data, sparking alarm among economists, policymakers, and MPs.
The OSR, which monitors the quality of official statistics, has called on the ONS to publish a comprehensive improvement plan aimed at restoring confidence in its surveys. The regulator highlighted multiple issues, including missed deadlines for crucial data such as trade, producer price inflation, and services inflation figures. Long-standing concerns about declining response rates to the Labour Force Survey, a critical measure of the UK jobs market, were also raised.
The Labour Force Survey has seen its response rates plummet to below 20%, compared to 50% a decade ago. This dramatic decline has eroded trust in the statistics used to assess key economic indicators like employment, productivity, and wage growth.
In its interim report, the OSR stressed the “urgent need to modernise” the ONS’s data collection and management processes, noting that the agency has struggled more than its international counterparts to recover from the pandemic’s disruptions.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the House of Commons Treasury committee, expressed concern that the lack of reliable data could lead to poor decision-making with serious consequences. “Wrong decisions made by these institutions can mean constituents defaulting on mortgages or losing their livelihoods,” Hillier warned. She added, “We know that these figures, on which decision-makers rely, are unreliable — and that is a huge problem.”
The ONS’s statistics are critical for guiding the Bank of England’s monetary policy and shaping fiscal decisions made by the government and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). There are growing fears that flawed data could lead to decisions that affect millions of people, from setting interest rates to determining economic strategies.
Although the OSR acknowledged some progress made by the ONS in 2025, including improvements in survey response rates and the integration of new data sources such as VAT records and rail and rental prices, it criticised the slow adoption of administrative data and the agency’s struggles with outdated practices. The OSR warned that the lack of investment in survey collection and the slow pace of modernization were central causes of the ONS’s difficulties.
In response to the criticisms, an ONS spokesperson assured that addressing the data quality issues is a top priority. “We recognise and share concerns about data quality and are addressing these as a matter of urgency,” the spokesperson said. “Our new strategic business plan includes a renewed focus on our core economic and population statistics.”
The regulator will review the ONS’s full response in the autumn and publish its final assessment. However, with crucial decisions about the UK economy on the line, the urgency for reform is clear. Without swift action, the credibility of the UK’s official statistics—and the policies they shape—remain at risk.
