Committee publication · Correspondence · 16 December 2025
Letter from James Benford, Director General for Surveys and Economic and Social Statistics, Office for National Statistics on the ONS Plan for Economic Statistics progress update December 2025, dated 4.12.25
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Summary
James Benford, Director General for Surveys and Economic and Social Statistics at ONS, updates the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on progress against the Plan for Economic Statistics and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan published in June 2025. The letter reports improvements in statistical quality, survey operations, and technology adoption, whilst acknowledging persistent errors in major indices and resource constraints requiring realistic reprioritisation and a multi-year business planning process.
Key findings
- Methodological improvements across key indices: house price index methodology enhanced (August 2025); monthly GDP headline shifted to 'three-month on three-month' measure with improved presentation (September 2025); Producer Price Index resumed publication after April suspension with corrected errors (October 2025)
- Survey capacity and operations expanded: face-to-face interviewer community grew 16% enabling 1,900 additional monthly interviews; Transformed Labour Force Survey short Core Survey launched July 2025; Supported Completion went live October 2025; ASHE expanded electronic data collection
- Significant errors acknowledged requiring correction: Retail Sales Index (September 2025) and Public Sector Finances (October 2025); OSR launched systemic review into HMRC data quality; process and governance improvements implemented including quality assurance enhancements
- Three AI projects advancing: ClassifAI for occupation coding (in production for two surveys); ScannerAI for receipt data (launching April 2026); Survey Assist for TLFS targeted follow-up questions (under trial)
- Three principal risks identified: recruitment lag alongside census preparations; large volume of legacy system change required; embedding new international macroeconomic standards by 2030 concurrent with Census 2031, all within flat budget envelope
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
James Benford, Office for National Statistics (ONS), Simon Hoare MP, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Office for Statistics Regulation, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Dame Meg Hillier MP
Notable line
“There have been too many errors and delays to releases. We have recently corrected major errors, including corrections to the Retail Sales Index (September 2025) …”
Key Quotes
“This new group brings together the various components of the statistical production process for economic statistics, including the relevant statistical methods and assurance functions, which will make it easier to agree priorities and align behind as we work to improve the quality of economic statistics.”
“These plans are critical to the ONS achieving its mission to deliver trustworthy, independent, high-quality statistics that underpin the UK's most critical economic and societal decisions and inform the public.”
“There have been too many errors and delays to releases. We have recently corrected major errors, including corrections to the Retail Sales Index (September 2025), and Public Sector Finances”
“While a recovery is underway, there is further to go to fully restore quality. There have been too many errors and delays to releases. We have recently corrected major errors, including corrections to the Retail Sales Index (September 2025), and Public Sector Finances”
“Given a flat budget envelope, growing efficiencies will be needed over time to achieve these ambitions.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗