The hardest part of productivity measurement

Categories: Economy, ONS, Public Policy

Productivity has been a topic of great interest in recent years, especially because of the well-known ‘productivity puzzle’ – the historically weak productivity growth in the UK since the economic downturn in 2008.

But if that is a puzzle, here is another one – how do you measure the productivity of public services, like education or healthcare, when they are provided for free? Since 2005, ONS has developed suitable measures for over half of public services, but there is still much to do. In this blog Josh Martin explains how the ONS measures the productivity of public services.

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How a better understanding of student suicide numbers can help prevent more

Categories: ONS
People talking in support group

A year ago, the Office for National Statistics produced its first estimates of Higher Education student suicides. Here Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of England’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, looks back on the past 12 months and the impact the ONS’ work has had.

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How ONS plans to provide new analysis on the core issues facing our society

Categories: Data, ONS, Population, Public Policy, Public Policy Analysis Quarterly Review

The ONS’ Population and Public Policy team has delivered many new insights over the past two years on the key issues facing our society today. Here, Deputy National Statistician Iain Bell reflects on some of the progress made and sets out his priorities for the coming months, which includes important work on towns and cities, further analysis of our ageing population and the continued modernisation of surveys.

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Ending a ‘burning injustice’: How the ONS will inform the drive against disability discrimination

Categories: Data, ONS, Public Policy

A new cross-government policy initiative aims to tackle the ‘burning injustice’ of disability discrimination. To support this ambition ONS has pledged to develop a new data dashboard, bringing the key data into one location where the disparities affecting disabled people can be easily interpreted and monitored.  Here, Helen Colvin discusses the project and invites interested parties to help in its development. 

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