​​ONS Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan for Economic Statistics: progress update​ December 2025

The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS’s) mission is to deliver trusted, independent high-quality statistics that support critical economic and societal decisions, and inform the public. At the heart of these statistics lie our social and business surveys, which provide the foundational data upon which our understanding is built.

In June 2025, we published two plans to improve the quality of our core economic statistics. These are the Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan (SIEP), to address recent challenges impacting the quality and reliability of ONS’s survey data, and the plan for ONS economic statistics (ESP), which sets out broader commitments to improve the quality of those statistics.

The SIEP is critical to the ESP. It sets out actions across four strategic themes:

• sustainable operations
• refreshed citizen/business relationship
• improved survey and statistical design
• technology and automation

In line with commitments to the Office for Statistical Regulation (OSR), this first quarterly report provides a summary of progress made since the publication of the SIEP, covering developments across social and business surveys up until the end of October 2025. Progress updates continue to be regularly reported to the UK Statistics Authority Board to ensure transparency.

This first quarterly update highlights key achievements while being transparent about the challenges we continue to face and our plans to address them.

Between June and October 2025 there has been encouraging progress in social surveys.

• We have made good progress in bolstering the field force, and identified barriers to trust from our responders.
• We have started developing the Transformed Labour Force Survey, including a new Short Core Survey.
• We have developed tools to make surveys more efficient, and strengthened telephone-based survey operations.

Similarly, we have made progress on business surveys.

• We now use the Statistical Business Register in live production and have incorporated Corporation Tax to deliver insights into business activity and improved sampling methodology.
• New ways of working through Account Management is enhancing the business experience and data quality.
• Additional survey collection has moved online, achieving cost savings and progressing towards digital-by-default.

However, we still have further to go to improve the quality of, and restore confidence in, our surveys. On social surveys we are still working to meet agreed survey quality requirements and on business surveys, legacy infrastructure and limited organisational capacity continue to present delivery challenges.

We remain committed to delivering meaningful improvements and reaffirming the ONS’s role as a world-leading producer of economic statistics. We are confident that the progress made to date supports this ambition, and as we continue to advance these actions, we will reflect on how future versions of this roadmap may evolve.

Dr Alex Lambert OBE, Director of Social Surveys
Kate Davies, Director of Business Surveys

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces core economic statistics using four social surveys, including the Labour Force Survey, Living Costs and Food Survey, Wealth and Assets Survey, and International Passenger Survey, as well as 65 of 74 business surveys. These surveys underpin outputs such as gross domestic product (GDP), Business Prices, and Average Weekly Earnings, making high-quality data essential for reliable statistics.

The Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan (SIEP) responds to the Office for Statistics Regulation’s (OSR’s) recommendations to restore confidence in social surveys and reduce risks in business surveys. Improving data quality is a long-term process due to the complexity and multi-year design of many surveys.

For social surveys, the ONS is at the early stages of rebuilding, with significant work still needed to meet agreed quality targets. Performance improvements will take time to appear in published data, though Annex 1 shows early gains from recent investment. Additionally, to enhance transparency on ONS social survey performance, we are developing a survey response and sample tracker, which will provide a summary of key operational data. It is currently undergoing user testing and will be published on the ONS website. More details will be available soon.

Business survey improvements range from major transformational changes to smaller initiatives already delivering benefits. A commissioned quality review will identify key risks, prioritise actions, and support the transition from legacy systems to strategic platforms, enabling methodological enhancements.

Full details on progress against the specific actions outlined in the Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan (SIEP) can be found in Annex 2 for social surveys and Annex 3 for business surveys. Across the 52 actions (as reported at the end of October 2025):

• 9 actions have been delivered (2 social, 7 business), meaning they have successfully been completed with no outstanding tasks
• 26 actions are on track for successful delivery (10 social, 16 business), meaning they are progressing as planned with no major risks identified
• 8 actions are in progress with identified challenges (4 social, 4 business), meaning delivery is feasible, but known risks could impact their timeline or quality
• 8 actions are at risk of delivery (4 social, 4 business), meaning current risks or unknowns are reducing confidence in successful completion within originally anticipated timescales
• 1 action has not yet started (social), meaning work has not commenced

While the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) was initially included in the broader list of activities, due to its scale and complexity, detailed updates are reported in the Labour Market Transformation articles, and are not provided in this update.

Headline messages for social surveys

Our Spotlight on successes section highlights several key achievements.

• The upscaling of the interviewer community successfully onboarded 250 new interviewers, increasing interviewer headcount by 16%; this investment has enabled 1,900 additional face-to-face interviews per month across all surveys (April to October 2025) and has helped restore Labour Force Survey (LFS) achieved sample sizes similar to those before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (see subsection, Upscaling the interviewing community).
• We have initial results from our citizen Trust Project to help overcome barriers and improve response rates (see subsection, Identifying barriers to trust).
• A successful introduction of an innovative Record of Spending tool on the Living Cost and Food Survey will automate diary spending returns, reducing interviewer administration and improving data quality (see subsection, Living Costs and Food Survey Improvements).
• From the Telephone Services Review, there are 60 recommendations across three themes: People, Processes, and Technology – we are working to deliver against the recommendations, which will be a significant step in strengthening our telephone-based survey operations (see subsection, Telephone services review).

In addition to these accomplishments, we have also made significant progress in other areas.

Transformed Labour Force Survey progress

The latest update on the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) progress was published in November. Since the Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan (SIEP), several design improvements have been delivered, including the short Core Survey launched in July 2025. This streamlined, labour-market-focused questionnaire (around 15 minutes per household) is already reducing partial responses and improving representativeness by increasing larger household participation. Supported Completion, enabling interviewers to assist respondents at home to complete TLFS online, went live in October 2025 and is expected to boost response rates among harder-to-reach groups.

Outstanding changes include data rotation, pay and earnings questions, and complex variables, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). Testing these has proved more challenging than expected, so implementation of data rotation, and pay and earnings changes, is now planned for April 2026 rather than January. The outcome of current complex variables testing, due January 2026, will enable us to confirm an implementation plan. We will monitor impacts with key users and provide regular updates.

Progression and promotion opportunities

Coaching and Learning Partner roles have been introduced to support the increasing number of interviewers and skill transfer to new recruits, as well as supporting existing interviewers.

Alternative data sources discovery

A prioritised research portfolio exploring the use of alternative data in social surveys has been drafted, including a three-year plan shaped by user needs.

Survey response incentives

A targeted incentives trial on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) has been completed. Findings show a positive impact on overall response rates and a reduction in sample bias, with increased participation from under-represented groups.

Key barriers to progress

While we have made meaningful progress, challenges remain across social surveys.

• Finance: initial estimates suggest that maintaining the expanded field community size target of 1,003 will require additional funding in the 2026/27 Financial Year budget – a key topic for upcoming business planning discussions.
• Resource: interviewer attrition remains steady at 25%, impacting onboarding efforts especially over the summer; we are working with our strategic field resourcing partner to address this.
• Citizen engagement: despite encouraging results from the Trust Project (Phase 1) challenges remain in reframing the role of surveys for citizens to improve response rates and target underrepresented groups; phase two will support efforts in these areas.

Headline messages for business surveys

Our Spotlight on Successes section highlights several key achievements. We are:

• expanding the Large Cases Unit to continue to support economic statistics; this will provide insight for improved methods to measure globalisation in the National Accounts (see subsection, Expanding the Large Cases Unit and the Account Management Unit)
• almost doubling the size of the Account Management Unit, reflecting strong business engagement and notable improvements to data quality (see subsection, Expanding the Large Cases Unit and the Account Management Unit)
• developing career pathways alongside Economic Statistics, creating clear progression routes and apprenticeship opportunities, strengthening leadership through targeted recruitment, and driving efficiency by automating survey management (see subsection, Career pathways)
• moving to digital collection for Business Prices, enhancing data quality and reducing operational risk and costs, and introducing innovations like tailored questionnaires to support key UK inflation measures (see subsection, Digital collection for business prices)

We have also made significant progress in several areas.

Statistical Business Register

Six survey samples have been adopted, and we have incorporated Corporation Tax data, both of which are already benefiting core economic statistics.

Legacy reduction

We continue to invest in the removal of legacy systems, with high confidence that three more surveys will move onto the Statistical Preparation Platform in 2025.

Key barriers to progress

While we have made meaningful progress, challenges remain across business surveys.

• Resourcing: the complexity of business survey operations requires specialist expertise, and long training periods create capability gaps; career pathways and Account Management Unit (AMU) and Large Cases Unit (LCU) initiatives offer long-term solutions but will take time to fully embed. 
• Organisational capacity: support from our enabling areas including Digital Services, and Methodology and Quality, are essential to delivering the SIEP; however, high organisational demand may constrain resources, and organisational-wide prioritisation will be key to managing these risks and ensuring progress.
• Legacy technology: legacy systems continue to impact both output quality and staff experience. The ongoing survey methods review will help guide this transition, but timely delivery of new systems is essential to improving quality and meeting key milestones, such as the International and Macro-Economic Statistical Standards (IMSS).

Social surveys

Upscaling the interviewing community

Earlier this year, we committed to a bold and necessary goal: to grow our interviewer workforce and leadership capacity to meet rising field demands and support the transformation of our survey operations. Since April 2025, we have not only made progress, but we have also built momentum.

Progress highlights:

• we have successfully onboarded 250 new interviewers
• we have increased interviewer headcount by 16%, reaching 843 – a net growth of 112
• 194 new starters are now operational in the field, with validation and training completed

Leadership growth and Coaching Partner surge:

• we have welcomed 18 new Interviewer Managers, reinforcing leadership capacity and preparing for future onboarding waves
• the launch of 18 new Coaching Partner roles has drawn over 400 applicants
• our Coaching Partners will play a pivotal role in sustaining performance, with early evidence showing boosts in survey outcomes where coaching support is present

Strategic alignment and headcount targets:

• we remain on track to reach our March 2026 amended target of 1,003 interviewers, with monthly growth forecasts aligned to operational needs

Next steps:

• continued recruitment through Quarter 4 2025 and into early 2026, with weekly onboarding cohorts and conversion plans in motion
• selection and onboarding of Coaching Partners, with tailored training and support to embed coaching into daily field operations
• ongoing monitoring of attrition, net growth, and regional capacity to ensure we meet our target

Identifying barriers to trust

Earlier this year (February to March 2025), we ran a pilot campaign in Birmingham to help build trust and encourage more people to take part in our social surveys. The campaign focused on households receiving invitations to several social surveys.

The trial aimed to address the top four barriers to completing social surveys, including:

• worrying the survey might be a scam
• not knowing how their data would be used
• unclear on why their input matters
• not recognising who the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is

A three-part campaign was launched to address these issues:

• postcards were sent to selected households to introduce the survey and build confidence
• online adverts appeared on streaming platforms, reaching thousands and driving traffic to our website
• bus stop billboards reminded people about the survey, reaching over half a million residents

Results:

• survey response increased on the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) over the trial period by 5.4% compared to the previous seven weeks, and by 6.3% compared to the same time last year
• there was an 11% increase in response from people aged 65 and over, showing strong engagement from older groups
• while the campaign helped boost participation among a segment of households, we did not see a change among harder-to-reach groups
• operational constraints meant that the sample sizes were small, and the limited budget meant that the campaign only ran for one month in one area; external events such as religious holidays and strikes may have affected people taking part

What we learned:

• the campaign helped raise awareness of the ONS, reassured people that our surveys are genuine, and encouraged more people to take part – especially older adults

Next steps:

• we are planning a second phase, running over a longer period; this will help us learn more about what works and how we can better reach groups that are less likely to respond, including younger people and ethnic minority groups

Living Costs and Food Survey improvements

We have successfully launched the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF) Record of Spending tool, replacing the Excel diary used by interviewers to record detailed spending data provided by respondents. It is expected to reduce interviewer administration and eliminate duplicate data entry for non-receipted items. The tool’s implementation marks the first step in uplifting the LCF to Blaise 5 (a computer-assisted interviewing system) – improving data quality and operational efficiency.

Delivery approach:

• engaged interviewers and survey validation teams early to ensure usability
• developed new Blaise 5 functionality, building internal capability and enabling future innovations
• collaborated internally across the organisation, with support from enabling functions and others to overcome challenges and deliver a robust solution

Next steps:

• evaluate benefits over the next six months, to reduce admin, improve data quality, and progress toward full Blaise 5 implementation
• explore automation opportunities in receipt processing and coding as part of the wider LCF uplift

Telephone services review

Over the past six months, we conducted a major review of Telephone Services, resulting in over 60 recommendations across three themes: People, Processes, and Technology – a significant step in strengthening our telephone-based survey operations.

People

• Leadership and training: tailored training initiated for manager-grade staff; ongoing recruitment to strengthen the Telephone Operations leadership team.
• Capacity and capability: onboarded 83 Telephone Interviewers this year, bringing headcount to its highest since May 2023; recruitment is underway for new Coaching and Learning Partner roles.
• TLFS transition: a discovery project has explored future service needs post-LFS; analysis is ongoing.
• Communications: new channels and opportunities have been introduced for staff to engage directly with senior leaders.

Processes

• Management Information: a new MI role has been created, with a better process to track time allocation – supporting productivity, planning, and a future interviewer recognition scheme.

• Continuous improvement: benchmarking visits to other government departments are informing recommendations on operational structures and processes.

Technology

• Survey Enquiry Line (SEL): updates to the fieldwork management tool have improved interactions between SEL and Field Interviewers.

Next steps

• Interviewer recognition scheme: a new framework is being developed to improve the attraction, retention, and recognition of interviewers.

• Automated spot checks (launching December 2025): to deliver more accurate and timely productivity insights, significantly reducing management overhead.

• Telephone infrastructure improvements: collaborative work with Business Survey colleagues is underway to enhance agent/respondent interactions and unlock efficiency opportunities.

• Enhanced management information (MI): a new MI “menu” will be developed to support improved operational planning, reporting, and workforce forecasting.

• Capability development for Telephone Interviewers: plans include bespoke learning pathways (in partnership with the Operational Delivery Profession), protected learning time, and coaching opportunities.

Business surveys

Expanding the Large Cases Unit and the Account Management Unit

Large Cases Unit

In summer 2025, we committed to expanding the Large Cases Unit (LCU), which provides account management and a single point of contact for large, complex businesses, to deepen our understanding of globalisation and complex business structures. By identifying discrepancies early, the unit improves data coherence and reduces follow-up contact, delivering efficiencies for both businesses and the ONS.

Key successes:

• Expansion: since June, the LCU has grown from 125 to 163 Reporting Units, expanding its remit across a broad range of industry sectors.

• Pharmaceutical industry impact: strong relationships with pharmaceutical businesses have supported improved methods for measuring globalisation in the National Accounts.

Next steps:

• Industry review and expansion: an enhanced programme of industry reviews will help us create a prioritised list of businesses to support globalisation-related development; early engagement has already begun with a targeted group of businesses, and we continue to onboard businesses with complex structures, keeping us on track to reach 300 Reporting Units by the end of the financial year.

Account Management model extension

Since June 2025, the Account Management Unit (AMU) has nearly doubled in size, from 24 Reporting Units to 45, reflecting strong business engagement.  

Data quality improvements:

• response rates: up by 7%, with a 10% increase in on-time returns

• data accuracy: providing support and increasing understanding has reduced errors by 5%

• efficiency: tailoring our engagement and correspondence has decreased touchpoints by 6%

Staff capability and recruitment:

• recruitment: following successful recruitment campaigns, we have increased the size of the team to 17 staff, up from 5 in April 2025

• capability growth: enhanced analytical skills and domain expertise across multiple surveys

• training needs: identified the need for bespoke training, which will be integrated into the wider career pathways plan for collection operations

Learnings and challenges:

• annual survey complexity: we have observed that businesses find annual surveys more difficult to complete. Further exploration is needed to understand the underlying challenges and identify improvements that can make the process easier for respondents

• strategic capability: navigating multiple legacy systems requires significant intervention and we need to automate processes and streamline data collation to reduce operational burden and improve scalability

• staff attrition: recent staff attrition has highlighted gaps in expertise within the team. While recruitment activity is ongoing, we anticipate a temporary slowdown in expansion as new staff are onboarded

Next steps:

• We are developing a comprehensive action plan to guide the long-term growth of the AMU, ensuring a strategic and sustainable approach to scaling the operation. It is acknowledged that achieving 500 businesses is unlikely and we have revised our ambition to 250.

Career pathways

The complexity of the business survey operation demands a workforce with specialised skills and deeper subject matter expertise – currently our staff profile is heavily weighted towards lower grade roles (Administrative Officers and Executive Officers) primarily engaged in hands-on survey processes, that offer limited routes for internal progression, and this leads to high attrition.

Our key objectives for this financial year are to:

• create specialised career pathways that align with thematic survey areas - such as labour market, financial surveys and trade - to build a flexible, expert workforce

• restructure lower grade roles to better support coaching and career progression

• invest in innovation to drive efficiency and data quality

What we have done:

• collaborated with a volunteer group of staff across the organisation to test the feasibility and value of new pathways

• developed the first career pathway, including clear progression routes, apprenticeship options, and routine loans and secondments in statistical production teams

• recruited Senior Executive Officers to provide specialist leadership of financial and labour market surveys

• developed an automated approach to survey management information, with projected time savings that will deliver a net benefit of £555,000 in staff time

Next steps:

• over the next quarter we plan to pilot labour market career pathways on the Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey, alongside economic statistics, and the financial career pathway on Insurance and Trusts Surveys
• expand team-led training to build capability in new-entrant staff
• expand automation of management information across full survey portfolio

Digital collection for business prices

This year, we successfully transitioned the full suite of Business Prices Surveys – including Producer Prices, Services Producer Prices, and Import and Export Prices – to digital-by-default collection. These surveys contribute directly to key UK inflation measures and mark a significant step forward in modernising our data collection approach.

Aims:

• improve data quality and respondent experience by moving surveys online
• decommission the legacy Telephone Data Entry (TDE) system, reducing organisational risk and delivering cost savings

Achievements:

• all business prices surveys are now digital-by-default, totalling 72,000 questionnaires annually; this move is expected to generate savings in 2025/26 of £10,000, with estimated ongoing annual savings of £31,000
• these surveys are the first to fully utilise new pre-population capabilities, giving us the ability to tailor a questionnaire based on business-specific information
• for the prices suite of surveys, we have been able to provide information on the products and services that we require business data for
• the removal of the TDE system – previously heavily used by prices surveys – has reduced operational risk and delivered ongoing cost efficiencies of £19,000 per year
• survey methods have been updated to exclude data provided by businesses for estimated future prices, allowing for real-time data collection, and expected improvements in data quality

Next steps:

• we continue to work closely with teams across the ONS to refine and improve the digital service, including identification of capability gaps for future migrations, and opportunities for continuous improvement
• our next focus areas for digital collection include the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the Business Register and Employment Survey

Over the next three months, our focus will remain on driving forward all actions.

Across social surveys, particular emphasis will be on:

• continuing to ramp up field recruitment supported by a renewed agreement with our recruitment partners, with continued focus on managing attrition and driving net growth towards our target

• planning Phase two of the Trust Project; the focus areas will include youth and ethnic minority groups with the aim to increase representation in our survey data

Key focus areas for business surveys will include:

• driving forward new approaches to business engagement, with a focus on tackling non-response and strengthening enforcement through targeted action plans

• progressing the delivery of key surveys, including Monthly Business Survey, Quarterly Business Survey, and Construction and Allied Trades Survey, onto the Statistical Preparation Platform, while exploring options for the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

• advancing automation and innovation to support wider operational efficiency and expanding the Account Management Unit and the Large Cases Unit

Annex 1: Update on quality for social surveys (March to October 2025)

Notable improvements on quality for the LFS have been made since responses reached a critical low in Autumn 2023, driven by a dedicated effort to boost interviewer capacity and enhance data quality:

• assigned field interviewers rose by 133 from 293 to a total 426 by October 2025, meaning we are on target with the revised March 2026 target of 426 following removal of the Scottish Boost.

• a significant rise in survey responses – individual responses up from 44,238 (July to Sept 2023) to 75,757 (July to Sept 2025)

Response levels have shown clear improvement because of these actions, with Wave 1 response levels now similar to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level. The composition of respondents according to different characteristics show some improvement since late 2023; however, representativeness is lower than before the pandemic and has not improved for all characteristics.

A recent drop in average interviews per week for Wave 1 in September and October 2025, when compared with March 2025, can be attributed to the influx of new interviewers who are still undergoing training. This temporary effect is expected to improve as the training process is completed.

Overall, these improvements reflect a clear focus on strengthening the survey’s reach and reliability, ensuring more comprehensive and higher-quality data in the future. We continue to closely monitor LFS data quality and regularly update users via LFS quality articles, which assess the impact of recent changes, response levels and rates, and respondent characteristics.

Despite improvements in June 2025, achieved interviews on LCF have remained below the monthly minimum required by National Accounts (for GDP) and Household Resilience Division (for Family Spending outputs).

Field interviewer capacity is expected to meet LCF requirements from January 2026, with monthly survey targets likely to be met from then. However, earlier shortfalls mean we are only at approximately 40% of the annual target halfway through the survey year, increasing the risk that the full-year requirement will not be achieved even if monthly goals are met from January.

Field capacity and performance remain key priorities to support LCF outcomes. We continue investing in LCF improvements as outlined in the SIEP, with earliest changes due from April 2026.

We have made progress in restoring field capacity since June 2025 and hit interview targets in October 2025 for the first time in Round 10. Full capacity to cover existing sample sizes is expected by March 2026. Wave 1 response rates have improved from approximately 15% to approximately 20%, and Wave 2 plus from approximately 40% to approximately 50%. Development of an automated processing pipeline continues to improve timeliness, supported by additional delivery management resources to streamline data flow and remove blockers.

Annex 2: Updates on social surveys delivery plan

Sustainable field operations

1. Upscaling the interviewer field community

See Spotlight section.

2. Expand the promotion and progression pathway at the executive officer grade

Coaching and Learning Partner roles have been expanded across the three field communities with the aim to reach 65 roles. To date, these roles support the face-to-face and the International Passenger Survey communities and will be expanded to the Telephone Operations Unit by the end of 2025.

3. Interviewer process, performance and productivity

A Target Tracker has been implemented across all teams and surveys with measurable improvements in achieved interviews, average calls per case and work allocation.

Operational Focus Groups have been established for each survey to provide targeted guidance and encourage peer-to-peer support among interviewers.

In-month interventions have been introduced to proactively address and redirect work that may be at risk.

A key success of these interventions was the highest achieved interviews across all our general field force surveys in July and August for the last 12 months.

4. Interviewer recognition

Extensive work has taken place over recent months to more clearly articulate the design principles and success criteria of a successful interviewer recognition project. A reinitiation phase is underway to establish a more structure delivery approach with formal project management support.

5. Telephone services review

See Spotlight section.

Refreshed citizen relationship

6. Identifying barriers to trust

See Spotlight section.

7. Incentives

Research has been completed to evaluate the impact of different conditional incentive amounts on full and partial completion of the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS), as well as the impact on bias. Discussions are underway on how we take these findings forward. A trial for targeted incentives on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) has completed. Findings show positive impact on overall response rates and reducing sample bias, with increased response in the underrepresented groups. Results have been disseminated internally in 2025, and wider sharing is planned. Data from a differential incentive exploration with interviewers has been analysed and summarised to help inform future discussions on this topic.

8. Mandation

Work has been ongoing with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to develop a “state of play” paper, which has been reviewed by the Board. Recommendations have been made for exploration of non-statutory approaches, and further discussion of mandation with the new Permanent Secretary.

Improved survey and statistical design

9. Transformed Labour Force Survey delivery

Separate regular updates are published to provide overviews of Labour market statistics transformation plans and progress, building on previous engagement on the Transformed Labour Force Survey.

10. Wealth and Asset Survey (WAS) improvements

Current interviewer numbers are on track, with growth planned in this financial year to expand interviewer resource on WAS by March 2026.

11. Living Costs and Food Survey improvements

Discovery work for inclusion of Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018 has taken place. Successful delivery of a sample boost from April 2026 is dependent on the field interviewer growth plan post-March 2026.

12. International Passenger Survey improved methods

We are refining the International Passenger Survey methodology and processing, focusing on improving the new sampling approach. Phase 1 of the Travel and Tourism Reform Project will now close in 2026. Phase 2 will deliver a feasibility report on using administrative data for Travel and Tourism statistics, guiding future research and innovation.

13. Alternative data research

Detailed work to identify opportunities for where and how alternative data sources (ADS) could be used across social surveys has identified user needs and stories. A prioritised research portfolio including three-year plan for use of ADS has been drafted and circulated internally.

Technology

14. Legacy systems

We are currently assessing the capability needs of Social Surveys as a priority and constructive conversations are ongoing across the Office for National Statistics to identify opportunities for technology efficiencies and shared learning.

15. Collection tools – problem-based opportunities for artificial intelligence

Resource is in place to create a prioritised research plan, bringing together existing developments both within Social Surveys and other parts of the organisation, and potential areas for development.

16. Collection Tools – LCF automatic readings of receipts

See Spotlight section.

17. Collection tools – SIC AI further questions

Early work on an artificial intelligence tool to dynamically produce questions to improve data quality when collecting Standard Industry Classification data on the Transformed Labour Force Survey (LFS) is progressing with scaled testing ongoing. The potential for this tool to be used across our other social surveys will be explored depending on the results achieved on the TLFS.

Annex 3: Updates on business surveys delivery plan

Sustainable Field Operations

1. Increase the number of businesses in the Account Management Unit

See Spotlight section.

2. Increase the number of businesses in the Large Cases Unit

See Spotlight section.

3. Career pathways

See Spotlight section.

4. Operational research (OR) capability

The Innovation team has appointed two new specialists and invested in the development of existing staff. While broader resource planning for OR roles across surveys is ongoing, the team has already initiated pieces of work, covered in Action 13.

Looking ahead, we remain focussed on embedding OR capability within our career pathways framework to ensure long-term sustainability.

Business engagement

5. Non-response strategy

We are collating a survey portfolio picture for non-response and will be aligning with the broader business engagement strategy.

Whilst this action has not been delivered for September 2025, it remains on course to be delivered by the end of the financial year.

6. Education and engagement

Recent redeployments have strengthened the Business Surveys Directorate with stakeholder engagement expertise, enabling a focussed review of engagement activities.

This work now identifies immediate priorities and informs a longer-term plan for business engagement, non-response and enforcement. It aligns with broader organisational efforts to improve data quality and respondent experience, and will support the development of clearer communications, targeted interventions and improved compliance.

7. Enforcement strategy

We are adopting a more strategic approach to enforcement referrals by moving beyond company size as the primary criterion. A cross-business effort is underway to develop a “critical to quality” framework to guide prioritisation. The enforcement strategy will be considered alongside the business engagement strategy to ensure a coordinated approach.

Improved survey and statistical design

8. Future of business surveys and statistics

8.0. Review of questions and topics to be covered by Integrated Annual Business Survey (IABS) (Annual Business Survey and Annual Purchases Survey)

Significant progress has been made with internal stakeholders and expert groups to review questions and topics for the combined Annual Business Survey and Annual Purchases Survey, with agreement on a prioritised set of data requirements for the planned implementation in March 2027.

Further transitions planned under the IABS will ensure continuous improvement, including the development of new questions to enable the adoption of new international standards.

8.1. Review of inclusion of UK Manufacturing products (PRODCOM) and Annual Survey of Goods and Services (ASGS) in the Integrated Annual Business Survey (IABS)

An internal exercise has been completed to collate data requirements for the IABS, including PRODCOM and the ASGS.

We will now be exploring the opportunity to integrate these surveys with the IABS by assessing the technology needed to deliver a high-quality, tailored collection instrument. We anticipate gaps in capability that may pose delivery challenges beyond March 2027.

8.2. Complete new conceptual modular design and delivery roadmap for all business surveys

Development of the future roadmap for all business surveys is underway.

Final sequencing will be guided by organisational priorities and survey quality, with input from economic statistics teams and enabling partners to shape the plan collaboratively.

8.3. Decision of second theme to include in programme, as discussed in Core Statistics Strategy

The delivery roadmap and next survey theme must align with organisational priorities, particularly the Economic, Social and Environmental statistics group (ESEG) International Macroeconomic Statistical Standards (IMSS) project, which will drive transformation in survey collection.

The development of the IMSS Project is ongoing, with discussions postponed until December 2025, but a decision remains on track for this financial year.

9. Planned reviews of statistical methodology and survey design

9.0. Review of sample design for Financial Services Survey (FSS) and implementation on to Statistical Business Register (SBR)

The sample design for the FSS was reviewed using Financial Assets data from Corporation Tax to produce a stratified random sample. This change to methodology ensures that we use better auxiliary information to target financial activity across the sector. We have now deployed live sampling for this survey on the SBR, which has successfully delivered samples for two quarters.

9.1 - 9.4. Review of Business Insights and Conditions, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Monthly Wages and Salaries, and Business Register and Employment survey methodologies and sample designs 

Directors across the Surveys and Economic and Social Statistics Group are determining a priority order for quality reviews.

A priority order for quality reviews, milestones and public commitments is being developed. While this is ongoing, the review of surveys in Actions 9.1 - 9.4 are temporarily on hold. 

Technology and Innovation

10. Statistical Business Register (SBR)

10.0. Direct SBR sampling deployed for the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS)

The BICS deployment has been paused due to issues affecting small company selection. Testing is ongoing as we continue to work through the complexities of the methods underpinning the survey selection to size the work required and we will update milestones accordingly.

10.1. Incorporation of new data sources (corporation tax)

Since the publication of SIEP we have successfully integrated Corporation Tax data with the Statistical Business Register. We have deployed live sampling for the Financial Services Survey (FSS) using SBR, demonstrating our ability to generate stratified random samples, and providing significant improvements to estimates by using financial assets data to better target the financial sector.

We have explored the use of Self-Assessment data and teams are actively engaging with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to negotiate timelines for data access and integration with the SBR.

10.2. Direct SBR sampling deployed for surveys using the Statistical Preparation Platform (SPP)

We are continuing to explore direct SBR sampling for surveys currently using the SPP, but face challenges due to gaps in functionality. These gaps make it necessary to playback information from SBR to the Inter-Departmental Business Register, resulting in a complicated approach to sampling and risk of error.

In addition to this, we face challenges with direct SBR sampling for business surveys not using SPP due to integration with downstream legacy systems.

We have now commissioned an Integration Strategy to enable us to plan the work needed for the transition and the ordering of the surveys, both on SPP and other systems.

Whilst it looks unfeasible to integrate the SBR and SPP by the end of the financial year 2025/26, broader conversations across the organisation will inform how we approach this in the 2026/27 financial year.

11. Digital Collection

11.0. Producer Prices to be moved from paper to online collection

See Spotlight section.

11.1. Services Producer Prices to be moved from paper to online collection

See Spotlight section.

11.2. Import and Export Producer Prices to be moved from paper to online collection

See Spotlight section.

11.3. Decommissioning of telephone data entry system

See Spotlight section.

11.4. Remaining paper-based surveys for Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) moved online

Building on early 2025/26 successes in transitioning businesses reporting for over five employees to online collection, the remaining ASHE questionnaires currently on paper (118k) will move to digital in April 2026. This is expected to yield £100,000 in savings in 2026/27. Following enrolment in year 1, we estimate £200,000 in savings in ongoing years.

12. Legacy platforms

12.0. Complete build and implementation of Statistical Preparation Platform (SPP) for Monthly Business Survey (MBS), Quarterly Business Survey (QBS) and Construction and Allied Trades Survey (CAT)

Excellent progress has been made to transition three surveys to the SPP by December 2025, with strong delivery confidence and stakeholder agreement in place.

We are now working closely with business areas during the Transition phase to provide training and support for live deployment. The MBS and CAT surveys are set to go live in November, followed by the QBS in December.

12.1. End-to-end re-platforming of ASHE, including introduction of Power Apps and use of the SPP

A detailed assessment of the end-to-end technology replacement for the ASHE has concluded that delivery is currently unachievable for March 2026. Re-planning is underway to explore timelines.

13. Automation and AI

13.0. Implement ClassifAI as coding tool for Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) for the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES)

ClassifAI has significantly improved Standard Occupation Classification coding for the ASHE, reducing coding time by 224 hours in the latest collection.

An impact assessment using 300,000 business descriptors compared ClassifAI with the current G-code tool for SIC. A decision on adopting ClassifAI for the BRES is expected by the end of November, with plans to re-code BRES classifications using ClassifAI following approval.

13.1. Investigate and apply automated processes to replace manual intervention

We have developed simple, standardised Management Information for each survey across platforms, enabling consistent data collation. This will support teams, including Account Management and Large Cases Units, in compiling a holistic view across the survey portfolio to improve consistency and alignment. Detailed planning for the next phase is underway.

13.2. Establish Proof of Concept for businesses on automated collection of business survey data

We have had early conversations with several multi-national enterprises who have expressed their interest in exploring automated data collection of business survey data.

We will be continuing conversations through the remainder of the financial year, working with colleagues in Data Growth and Operations to design and plan the proof of concept.

13.3. Further testing of how large language models can be deployed to routine respondent correspondence to enhance user experience

We have initiated discussions with our telephone provider to explore enhanced service features, including sentiment analysis to better address respondent feedback. In parallel, we’re reviewing comments submitted via the Survey Data Collection Platform, both survey-specific and general, to inform a more holistic approach to feedback management and service improvement.

Additionally, we are exploring the use of a copilot agent to draft responses to respondent feedback. Work is underway with our internal Security team to assess data access requirements, with plans to test the solution within a small operational team.