1. Overview
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority (subsequently referred to as the Authority). Under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, the Authority oversees the production and publication of official statistics across the UK and ensures that they serve the public good.
ONS statisticians are responsible for producing outputs that comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, which sets out the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value. These standards ensure that statistics are produced independently, using sound methods, and in a way that meets user needs.
This policy outlines how the ONS manages the preparation and release of their statistics. It ensures transparency, and protects the integrity and independence of statistical production.
2. Important definitions
This section details the three different types of statistics.
Official statistics
Statistics that are produced by Crown bodies, those acting on behalf of Crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Accredited official statistics
Official statistics that have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Official statistics in development
A temporary label to indicate official statistics that are undergoing development and evaluation under the guidance of the ONS Head of Profession for Statistics. They may be new or existing statistics and will be tested with users in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value.
3. Timing and release of official statistics
All Office for National Statistics (ONS) release dates are pre-announced through the ONS release calendar. Standard practice includes:
pre-announcing publications in advance, including publishing precise dates at least four weeks ahead where possible
releasing publications at 9:30am on the scheduled day
releasing market sensitive publications at 7:00am, with specific agreement from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)
Statistics are released as soon as practicable once they and any accompanying commentary or analyses are judged fit for purpose. There is no opportunity, or perception of opportunity, for the withholding or delay of unfavourable results for political or other non‑statistical reasons.
The timing of releases is the responsibility of the ONS Head of Profession for Statistics.
Any alteration to a pre-announced date will be made public as early as possible and accompanied by an explanation for the change.
When an error is identified, the ONS will correct it as quickly as possible, in line with the Code of Practice.
Corrections will be:
clearly reported at the top of the affected publication
displayed in an expandable and collapsible blue "Correction" banner
accompanied by an explanation of the nature of the error and the rationale if a correction cannot be made
Full guidance is available in the ONS Revisions and Corrections of Errors Policy.
4. Format of statistical releases
Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistical releases include:
a publication with commentary on important figures or trends, and charts and tables where appropriate to aid with visual understanding
supporting dataset(s) files
Significant changes to the content and structure of outputs will only be done based on user needs, while ensuring that accessibility standards are still met. We will aim to give users as much advanced notice of any changes prior to them being implemented, with reasons for the change being publicly available.
5. User requested data
As described, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) regularly publishes analysis, commentary and datasets to a published pre-announced timetable. However, we also respond to user requests for additional analyses or data tables, which we call "user requested data". This service forms part of our vision of widening access to, and encouraging greater use of, our data.
Publishing responses to user requests will follow the same principles as the ONS uses for publishing regular statistics. In practice, this means the ONS will:
publish data tables and analyses produced in response to user requests, whether paid for or not on the ONS website
publish these at the same time as they are provided directly to the user requesting the information, making official statistics equally available to all
make available as much underlying data as possible (subject to the need to avoid disclosure) to reduce the need for users to make requests
provide statistics, analysis and datasets to meet customer requirements, in as much detail as is reliable and practicable, while ensuring that data released are not disclosive
We will not release underlying data before publication of the statistical release that it underpins. This is to ensure the integrity of official statistics and prevent speculation in advance of the official release, which could compromise trust in official statistics.
6. Pre-release access
Equality of access to official statistics is a fundamental principle of statistical good practice. As of 1 July 2017, pre-release access to Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics was removed in all but exceptional circumstances. Whenever a decision is taken to grant exceptional pre-release access, details are published on our pre-release access page.