Statistics

How to create and edit statistics announcements and publications.

How statistics announcements work

Do not create or modify statistics or statistics release announcements unless you have authorisation from your organisation’s Head of Profession for Statistics.

You need to create a publication even if the statistics publication will not be published on GOV.UK. The page summarises what the statistics are about and provides a link to the external statistics publication.

Statistics announcement style points

First, search GOV.UK for any similar announcements. You should match the title style of previous publications if you can. You must also follow the style guide when writing for GOV.UK.

Title

Statistics release titles must:

  • be unique
  • be under 65 characters
  • describe the statistics in the release in plain English
  • include the coverage and time the statistics relate to
  • not include the word ‘statistics’ - it’s already on the page
  • be in sentence case
  • be optimised for search (frontload the most important information)
  • use a colon instead of hyphens or dashes and a comma if you need a second separator
  • not contain jargon or technical language
  • not include abbreviations or acronyms (unless well known, for example, UK, VAT or EU)

Summary

The summary gives more information about the statistics, and will show in most search engine results. It should:

  • be under 160 characters (including spaces)
  • explain what the release is about in plain English (no jargon)
  • be a unique description specific to the release
  • not repeat the title
  • begin with the most important words (not ‘This release provides…’)
  • end with a full stop
  • explain any acronyms used in the title

Remember, when a release title or summary is displayed in the release calendar or search engine results, users need to see whether it’s what they want. All text needs to be checked by the author and another person before it is published.

Create a statistics announcement

  1. Select the ‘Statistics announcements’ tab in Whitehall publisher.

  2. Click the ‘Create announcement’ link.

  3. Choose a statistics type. Only select the ‘National Statistics’ option if your statistics are accredited by the UK Statistics Authority.

  4. Complete the ‘Title’ and ‘Summary’ fields.

  5. Add any relevant organisations.

  6. Select ‘Exact date (confirmed)’ if you’re sure of the release date or select a provisional date.

  7. Have someone review your work to check it’s correct before you publish it. 

  8. Click ‘Publish announcement’ - it will publish on GOV.UK immediately.

  9. To add topic tagging, select the ‘Add tag’ under the ‘Topic taxonomy tags’ heading.

Create a statistics publication for your announcement

Once a statistics announcement is published, you’ll see two options under the heading ‘Connected document’:

  • ‘Create new document’ (best option)
  • ‘Add existing document’ (less good option)

When the statistics publication publishes, the announcement will disappear from the release calendar.

Publication style points

Body text should:

  • follow the style guide
  • describe what the statistics are about and their purpose
  • be clear, concise and written in plain English
  • provide context if there are statistics with similar titles
  • not repeat the title and summary
  • not summarise what the publication says

Create a new document

  1. Click ‘Create new document’. This will automatically create a statistics publication page for your statistics document. The publication type, title, summary and topic fields will be filled in automatically for you.

  2. Fill in the body text. This should tell users what the release is about. It should also say whether the method or classification of the statistics has changed since the last publication.

  3. Click ‘Save’ so you can attach the file containing the statistics.

Add an existing document

  1. If the draft of the statistics publication is already in Whitehall publisher, select ‘Add existing document’.

  2. When a search box appears, type in the title of the publication and select it from the list of results. This will link the 2 pages together.

Review and publish a statistics publication

When your publication document is ready and saved, click ‘Submit for 2nd eyes’. This will allow another editor to review your document.

If they’re happy with the page, they can publish it immediately, or schedule it to be published on a specific date.

Edit a statistics announcement title, summary, organisation or topic

  1. Select the ‘Statistics announcements’ tab in Whitehall publisher. This will bring up a list of existing announcements.

  2. Select ‘View’ next to the announcement you want to edit.

  3. Click the ‘Update announcement’ button.

  4. Make your changes.

  5. Have someone else check your text for errors.

  6. Click ‘Save and publish changes’.

Change the release date of a statistics announcement

  1. Select the ‘Statistics announcements’ tab in Whitehall publisher. This will bring up a list of existing announcements.

  2. Select ‘View’ next to the announcement you want to edit.

  3. Click ‘Change dates’ under the ‘Release and delivery date’ heading.

  4. Change the date.

  5. If you’re changing a confirmed date, add a change note to explain the change of date - this will appear on the page for the public to read.

  6. Click ‘Update date’.

Cancel a statistics announcement

Cancel a statistics announcement if the statistics will no longer be published.

If you cancel an announcement, it will remain in the calendar until a month after the planned publication date. You will have to explain why the statistics have been cancelled.

You should unpublish an announcement instead if it:

  • was published in error
  • is a duplicate

If the statistics will not be published for any other reason, cancel the announcement. To cancel an announcement:

  1. Select the ‘Statistics announcements’ tab in Whitehall publisher. This will bring up a list of existing announcements.

  2. Select ‘View’ next to the announcement you want to cancel.

  3. Click on the ‘Cancel statistics release’ button. 

  4. A box will appear asking you to give the ‘Reason for cancellation’. This is a mandatory field which will appear on the website.

  5. Click the ‘Publish cancellation’ button.

  6. You can edit the reason for cancellation after you’ve published it.

Unpublish a statistics announcement

Only managing editors can unpublish a statistics announcement if it was published in error.

If your managing editor is not available, contact GDS using the GOV.UK Support form.

If the statistics will no longer be published you should cancel the statistics announcement instead.

To unpublish a duplicate announcement or one published by mistake:

  1. Select the ‘Statistics announcements’ tab in Whitehall publisher. This will bring up a list of existing announcements.

  2. Select ‘View’ next to the announcement you want to unpublish.

  3. Click on the ‘Unpublish announcement’ button. 

  4. Add the URL you want the announcement to redirect to and click the ‘Unpublish’ button.