LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government on Tuesday launched an investigation into the effectiveness and delivery of official economic data published by the Office for National Statistics, which has come under fire for its unreliable labour market figures.
The probe, commissioned by the Cabinet Office and the UK’s Statistics Authority regulator, will start this week and is expected to conclude in early summer.
“This review is an opportunity to help ensure that the ONS can deliver of its best in what is a challenging external environment,” Robert Chote, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, said.
In March, the ONS postponed publication of trade and producer price inflation datasets, adding to its struggles to fix problems with its labour statistics.
The Bank of England relies on the ONS’ labour market statistics as part of its decision-making process interest rates.
The review will be led by former senior civil servant Robert Devereux and will examine the structure, leadership and culture at the ONS, and look at the effectiveness of its sponsorship relationships with the government and Treasury.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla, editing by Andy Bruce)
