The Office for National Statistics must change to fix its data problems

When statisticians become the subject of headlines, rather than the topics they are looking at, it is generally not good news.

But that is the uncomfortable position the Office for National Statistics has found itself in for the past year and a half. ²⁸ Strauss D, ‘Statistics agency steps up efforts to improve key UK jobs data’, Financial Times, 2 November 2023, retrieved 7 March 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/4550419e-26b8-4044-8981-9dceab426419

Problems with the Labour Force Survey, which collects information from a sample of households each quarter to gauge employment, unemployment and inactivity rates – vital inputs into monetary and other economic policy decisions – have been the primary cause of the ONS’s awkward headlines. It dropped the ball badly, with the response rate dipping to 17% at its lowest point. ²⁹ Diamond I, correspondence with the chair of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, 3 December 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/45859/documents/227537/default/ This led to the UK’s main labour market dataset losing its accreditation as an official statistic in November 2023. ³⁰ Office for Statistics Regulation, ‘OSR’s statement on the Labour Force Survey-derived estimates and Annual Population Survey-derived estimates, 12 December 2024, retrieved 7 March 2025, https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/osrs-statement-on-the-labour-force-survey-derived-estimates-and-annual-population-survey-derived-estimate…

As a result, the Bank of England, the government and the private sector lack accurate labour market data on which to base decisions. And the Labour Force Survey is not an isolated case: over the past two years, problems have arisen with some of the other statistics the ONS produces too.

The ONS is attempting to deliver huge change programmes

The spotlight has fallen on the ONS at a time when it is attempting to deliver a huge change programme in the form of the Integrated Data Service, which is designed to facilitate the sharing of data within (and beyond) government. This could bring huge benefits for policy making and service delivery, but the Lievesley Review of the UK Statistics Authority (consisting of the ONS, and a regulatory branch) last year reported hearing “a large number of concerns regarding the progress of the IDS with a variety of views as to what are the obstacles to greater progress”. ³¹ Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority by Professor Denise Lievesley CBE, 12 March 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-uk-statistics-authority-uksa-2023/independent-review-of-the-uk-statistics-author…

The ONS is also in the process of deciding whether to recommend ditching the traditional Census in England and Wales. ³² Office for National Statistics, ‘Consultation publications and updates’, 14 December 2023, retrieved 7 March 2025, https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/programmesandprojects/censusanddatacollectiontransformationprogramme/futureofpopulationandsocialstatistics/ge… As a replacement, the ONS would stitch together various administrative datasets – something untried in the UK at this scale.

Morale is falling at the ONS

Despite being seen to have done well during the Covid pandemic, staff morale at the ONS, as measured by the Civil Service People Survey’s ‘employee engagement index’, has been declining since 2020 and fell to a score of 60.4 in 2024 – below the median figure of 64.1 for all government departments and executive agencies. 

Of the People Survey’s ‘themes’, the ONS scores poorly in several areas. Only 25.3% of ONS respondents expressed a positive view on pay and benefits, compared to 34.1% for the median organisation. And 42.2% of those at the ONS expressed a positive view on ‘leadership and managing change’, compared to 52.2% for the civil service overall.

The ONS comes out especially badly on two specific questions. Among ONS respondents, 17.9% said that they felt change was managed well in their organisation, compared to an already low 33.1% for the median civil service organisation, ranking it 100th organisation out of 103. ³⁴ These figures exclude group totals where an organisation is also reported individually, so as not to double-count.

And 19.2% of ONS respondents agreed that when changes were made in their organisation they were usually for the better, compared to 34.6% for the civil service overall, again ranking it 100th organisation out of 103.

Some of these challenges are not unique to the ONS

To what extent is the ONS to blame for its recent failures? Problems it is experiencing with response rates are seen elsewhere, with falling levels of survey participation an international phenomenon (though perhaps not to the extent seen with the Labour Force Survey ⁴⁰ Strauss D and Borrett A, ‘How flawed data is leaving the UK in the dark’, 7 February 2025, retrieved 7 March 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/dd5515cc-e628-4e17-a4fd-1a10cc9f81e4 ).

On the Integrated Data Service, while the ONS is the delivery lead, the Lievesley Review makes clear that much of the problem is to do with attitudes to data sharing within government. As such, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – the department with lead responsibility for data within government – needs to do more to sell the benefits of data sharing.

And, as with all parts of government, funding is an issue. Giving evidence at a recent Treasury Select Committee hearing, Ian Diamond, the National Statistician and head of the ONS, said that their assessment is that they need 1,500 interviewers across all of their surveys but that “we do not have the money for that now”. ⁴¹ House of Commons Treasury Committee, Oral evidence: Economic statistics, HC 682, 4 February 2025 https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/15338/html/ Instead, the number is increasing to closer to 1,000. The ONS also finds itself having to compete for digital and data talent with other parts of government that pay more.  

ONS turnaround plans should look at the big picture  

The ONS has started doing the work of rebuilding the credibility of the Labour Force Survey and other outputs – boosting the sample size and increasing payments for responding – but other action is needed too.

Firstly, within inevitably constrained budgets, the ONS needs to be hard-headed in its assessment of which of its statistical outputs and programmes are of greatest value, and then focus on these priorities. The ONS has begun this work (pausing one of its surveys on income and living conditions, for example ⁴² Office for National Statistics, ‘Statement on the Survey of Living Conditions’, 7 February 2025, retrieved 11 March 2025 ), and it needs to stick with it, even though some decisions will be unpopular.

Higher up the chain, the government should do more to sell the benefits of data sharing. It should also think about how other actions it takes could reduce the need for a 10-yearly Census if it has an ambition to end this; this could include starting to consider the pros and cons of a digital personal ID.

Finally, the UKSA should be commissioned to consider splitting the role of National Statistician, ⁴³ The Lievesley Review has recommended that this work starts ahead of the next time recruitment for the role starts and there was a similar recommendation from the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in 2019, see Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority by Professor Denise Lievesley CBE, 12 March 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-uk-statistics-authority-uksa-2023/independent-review-of-the-uk-statistics-author…  with one person leading the government’s use of statistics and one person having operational responsibility for running the ONS. The position was difficult to fill when it was last vacant in 2019 ⁴⁴ Smith B, ‘Search for next national statistician comes up empty’, Civil Service World, 23 April 2019, retrieved 7 March 2025, https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/search-for-next-national-statistician-comes-up-empty  and the ONS’s recent woes give further weight to the case that this vital role is currently too broad.