Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Updated 1 July 2026
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Our statistics are produced in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, which sets the standards and practices for production of official statistics. Our commitment to compliance with the Code aims to provide our users with confidence in the trustworthiness, quality and public value of the statistics we produce.
Not all statistics we publish will be official statistics. In determining whether statistics are official statistics, we consider the Code and other guidance from the Government Statistical Service. Where we have determined that statistics are not official statistics, we apply appropriate areas of the Code as far as is possible.
This statement sets out how the statistics produced by The Insolvency Service demonstrate the standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value – the three core principles of the Code of Practice. Alongside this, each regular statistical publication includes specific details on how that set of statistics complies with the Code of Practice.
1. Trustworthiness
1.1 Show integrity
Our statistics are produced by government statisticians and analysts under the leadership of the Lead Official for Statistics. We work independently of ministers and policy officials, with autonomy in deciding the content, methods and release times of statistics. To ensure our statistics are being used appropriately, we monitor the use of our statistics internally and work with communications officials to monitor external use.
1.2 Lead responsibly
The Lead Official ensures that the Code of Practice for Statistics is implemented across the Insolvency Service and provides wider leadership to the statistical community, to develop statistical competence and promote continual improvement in publications.
It is important that our people, and the systems and processes used to produce statistics and data, are trustworthy. This means we need to be well led, well managed, open, impartial and skilled so the public and our users have confidence in the people and organisations that produce statistics and data.
The Insolvency Service’s statisticians are recruited using the Government Statistician Group competency framework. We train and develop our skills regularly to ensure we demonstrate sound judgement and professionalism, apply the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics and act with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
To ensure public confidence in our statistics was maintained, the Office for Statistics Regulation conducted a compliance check against our monthly Company and Individual Insolvency official statistics. It concluded that they should be accredited official statistics.
1.3 Be transparent
The Insolvency Service is clear and transparent about our priorities and objectives and these are available in our annual statistical work programme.
Our statistics are published in an open, transparent and orderly way, in line with our publication schedule. This means we pre-announce routine statistical publications for at least the next 12 months and give the specific date and time a minimum of four weeks before.
To ensure equal access, we aim to ensure that public statements are drawn from reliable sources, including the latest published official statistics. Statistics are released separately from policy or Ministerial statements. If a public statement uses unpublished statistics, the statistics are published either in advance or as soon as possible afterwards on the user requested statistics and datasets page.
The Ministerial Code states that Ministers need to be mindful of the Code of Practice for Statistics and have regard to the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008.
Our revisions policy sets out the processes we follow when we need to revise or correct an error in a published output.
1.4 Manage data responsibly
The Insolvency Service follows statutory guidelines for the collection, sharing, linking, confidentiality and release of data and details are published alongside statistical releases. Where appropriate we apply disclosure control methods before release. All personal data is held securely and in accordance with data protection legislation and GDPR requirements.
We take seriously our responsibility of holding all our data and statistics in a safe and secure manner. How we keep the data we use to underpin official statistics secure, respect individuals’ rights to privacy, and enable other people to use our data responsibly is explained more in our data management approach and confidentiality policy.
2. Quality
2.1 Prioritise quality
Statisticians establish and maintain close relationships with those involved in the data collection process, such as operational and information technology colleagues.
The quality of The Insolvency Service’s statistics is important to ensure that they are fit for purpose for our users’ needs. People who use our statistics should have confidence in the quality of our statistical services and products and as such we endeavour to work to high standards of quality as set out in our Quality Management Approach.
2.2 Be rigorous
Methods and processes employed by The Insolvency Service’s statisticians are based on professional consensus of best practice methods and scientific principles, and details are available alongside each publication in methodology and quality documents. Further details are also available across our policy and procedures documents. Data are compiled using recognised standards and definitions which are explained clearly in the context of other available information in related subject areas. Any limitations of these methods are identified, along with steps to reduce and minimise these, with topic and method experts consulted where appropriate.
We endeavour to ensure source data are consistent and comparable over time, across different levels of aggregation and over geographic areas where possible. Where this is not the case, we explain it in our publications. For example, we present insolvency statistics separately for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as differences in legislation mean that numbers are not directly comparable.
Our statistics are based on the most appropriate data to meet intended uses. The impact of any data limitations is assessed, minimised and explained within statistical releases and the accompanying methodology documents.
Users of The Insolvency Service’s statistics will be notified of any changes to methods. Discontinuities in a time series will be fully reasoned and explained, with a consistent time series and back series of data provided where possible.
2.3 Be open about quality
The Insolvency Service’s statistics are produced with supporting quality information, giving background to the data and methodology used, and the quality of the estimates produced, explaining any associated uncertainty.
Any potential bias, uncertainty or limitation in the source data is identified and the full extent of any impact, and how these are minimised, is made transparent to users within our publications. The Insolvency Service systematically and periodically reviews and evaluates limitations in data sources. For example, where information is not complete as at the date of data extraction, we either suppress the latest month for that series, or make it clear that numbers may be revised in subsequent publications.
Processes of quality assurance will themselves be evaluated and reviewed regularly. Details of the Insolvency Service’s revisions policy are available online.
We publish statistics as ‘official statistics in development’ when using new methods or exploring new data sources. We clearly label these statistics as ‘in development’ in order to be transparent about strengths and limitations, and to seek feedback from users. For example, the Business insolvency demography, 2015 to 2025 publication is official statistics in development.
3. Value
3.1 Be relevant
The Code of Practice outlines that users should be at the centre of decision making about our statistics, to give the public confidence that statistics are relevant and useful. Our user engagement strategy outlines our approach to engaging, consulting and informing users, alongside our statement on customer service and complaints.
We regularly review our portfolio of statistics and the content of statistical publications to consider their relevance, timeliness, clarity and accessibility. We use analytics and feedback from users to continually improve and meet user needs. We use this feedback to help inform our priorities and objectives and these are available in our Annual statistical work programme.
We are committed to regularly reviewing our statistics outputs to ensure they are relevant to users and to identify ongoing opportunities for innovation and improvement.
Where we are planning new statistics, or major changes to existing statistics, we will consult with users, prior to making the change. For example, from May to June 2023 we consulted on proposed changes to Insolvency Service Official Statistics publications along with a user survey at the end of 2022. As a result, proposals for changes to the publications were published in April 2024 and then implemented.
3.2 Be clear
We strive to ensure that statistics are always presented clearly and accurately, so as not to mislead. Public communications such as press releases provide the source of any statistics used in the statement. Strengths, limitations and context are clearly communicated in the source statistics and alongside statistics that are published as part of our communications material.
Statistics will be described clearly and interpreted using appropriate data visualisations. The current dissemination of our Official statistics products focuses on commentary, including charts and tables, alongside data tables in Excel, Open Document Spreadsheet and CSV formats. We intend to add interactive Power BI dashboards to some of our products.
Each release is disseminated in a consistent place on the gov.uk website, so that they are easy to find for existing and potential users as well as stakeholders to engage with the statistics. An email address for the lead statistician is included in every release for enquiries or general comments.
3.3 Be accessible
The Insolvency Service aim to present statistics clearly, impartially and in formats that meet the needs of our range of users, as set out in the release practices policy. We e appropriate published guidance such as Releasing statistics in spreadsheets – Government Analysis Function.
Statistics, data and metadata produced by the Insolvency Service are published in accessible formats and are freely available to all on the gov.uk. Published visualisations and tables are in line with Analytical Function accessibility guidance.
Historic data continue to be publicly available such as historic monthly publications or on the National Archives website for data back to 1960 for some insolvency types.
4. Further information and contact details
For more information about the application of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics within The Insolvency Service see our policy and procedures page.
Statistics team
Email: statistics@insolvency.gov.uk