Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, following errors identified in the Labour Force Survey, whether the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) UK Statistics Authority made an assessment of the accuracy of Office for National Statistics statistics.

In April 2025 following concerns about the accuracy of the Labour Force Survey and other ONS statistics the UKSA Board and the Cabinet Office jointly commissioned Sir Robert Devereux to independently review the performance and culture of the ONS. His report was published in June 2025. On the same day the ONS published an ONS Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan. Subsequent updates were published in December 2025 and April 2026 and will continue to do so quarterly.

All of ONS’ statistics are assessed against the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR, which is part of the UK Statistics Authority). In 2025, the OSR published both an interim and final Systemic Review of Economic Statistics produced by ONS. The final report set out OSR’s expectations for further progress and its planned approach to the future regulation of ONS.

Attached is a letter from the Director General of OSR which sets out more information to part (b) of your question.