The Office for National Statistics are leading an international project to begin to define the true value for official statistics around the world. Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation at the UK Statistics Authority, reflects on why this is important and how it could help to transform evidence based decision making on an international scale.
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It’s well known that the Government has large amounts of debt, currently £1.8 trillion according to the headline measure. But what about other liabilities that are not included in this figure and what about all the assets the Government owns? Here, David Bailey sets out the way we measure it all and how the numbers are being improved.
Read more on How we measure what the Government owns and what it owes
The subject of how much the UK pays to the EU has been debated widely. The numbers used are principally based on figures reported by the ONS in our annual publication ‘The UK Balance of Payments’ which is often referred to as the Pink Book. So how do UK contributions to the EU work, and what does the Pink Book say?
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Today we’ve published an important update on the cross government project to improve the coherence of statistics produced on homelessness across the UK and build a better understanding of this critical social problem. The new work suggests that while the number of people seeking help for homelessness has remained broadly stable since 2013, there is some evidence the age profile of that group has become older. Here Debra Prestwood outlines the latest work to ensure statistics can answer important questions about homelessness and rough sleeping in the UK.
Read more on The emerging picture of UK homelessness and rough sleeping
Exports of services have for many decades made a large and positive contribution to the UK’s international trade balance. But unlike goods, which are relatively easy to count and value, the intangibility of services means their measurement has been less detailed. Now, thanks to a big expansion in our statistical coverage, ONS is shedding unprecedented new light on the subject.
Read more on Measuring the invisible – improving our understanding of UK trade in services