The last year has been transformative for the use and understanding of public data, including at the Office for National Statistics. In this piece, which first appeared in the Times, the UK’s National Statistician, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, breaks down how far we’ve come.
Read more on The pandemic has revolutionised public data and there’s no turning back
The sharp rise in consumer prices inflation revealed in the latest monthly data has inevitably prompted speculation about what’s to come. To fully understand the new figures, however, it’s important to remember that we have just passed the first anniversary of the pandemic. As Grant Fitzner explains, the statistical effects of that landmark need to unravel before the real the path of inflation and other economic statistics becomes clear.
Read more on Beware Base Effects
The coronavirus pandemic has made measuring the size and changing nature of the UK population more challenging, particularly with many of…
Read more on Meeting the challenges in population estimation
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic early last year has had huge impacts on many aspects of our everyday lives,…
Read more on Working from home: comparing the data
In the post-Brexit period, official trade statistics are being scrutinised as never before. It’s been noted that the UK figures from the ONS appear to tell a different story from those released by Eurostat, the EU’s own statistical agency. In this post Matt Hughes examines those discrepancies and explains why they don’t mean one side is necessarily wrong.
Read more on Trade off: different ways of measuring imports and exports
