Transparency data

Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Updated 13 July 2026

Purpose 

The Code of Practice (the Code) provides producers of official statistics with the standards they must commit to when producing and releasing official statistics. 

It ensures that the statistics published by the government serve the public. When producers of official statistics comply with the Code, it gives users of statistics and citizens confidence that published government statistics are of public value, are high quality and are produced by people and organisations that are worthy of trust. 

The framework for the Code of Practice for Statistics is based on 3 principles: 

• trustworthiness – having confidence in the people and organisations that produce statistics and data

• quality – using suitable data and appropriate methods that produce assured statistics

• value – producing statistics that benefit the public by informing and supporting decision making, action and debate

The principles have 10 essential areas of practice.

Trustworthiness 

• show integrity 
• lead responsibly 
• be transparent 
• manage data responsibly

Quality 

• prioritise quality 
• be rigorous 
• be open about quality

Value 

• be relevant 
• be clear 
• be accessible

DWP compliance with the Code 

All Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) official statistics are produced and published in line with the Standards for Official Statistics set out in the Code and statistical practices are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).  

Many of the statistics produced by DWP are accredited official statistics. This is the name for official statistics which have been independently reviewed by OSR and confirmed to comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code.

Producers of accredited official statistics are required to ensure they continue to maintain compliance with the Code. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. A list of Accredited Official Statistics is published on the OSR website. 

All DWP official statistics are supported by a background, information and methodology note and a release strategy that reflects the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the production and release of the statistics. For example, the Universal Credit statistics. 

Users are invited to contact statistical producers directly with any comments about the statistics standards or contact OSR directly by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk  or via the OSR website. 

DWP Chief Statistician 

The Chief Statistician has lead responsibility to ensure compliance with the Code and in making impartial decisions about statistics so that the public can have confidence in the independent and objective nature of statistics.

Applying the standards for Official Statistics 

The Code sets out 10 areas of practice. We meet these through the following actions. 

Trustworthiness 

Show integrity 

• We publish statistics that are impartial and free from political interference under the direction and leadership of the Head of Profession for Statistics  

• Statistics are handled with integrity and impartiality; statisticians advise on the use of statistics in communications such as policy documents or press releases

Lead responsibly 

• The Head of Profession for Statistics provides leadership, assurance and professional judgement to decide methods, standards and procedures, as well as the content, timing, frequency and mode of release for regular and ad hoc statistics 

• Clear governance and accountability arrangements are in place with guidance and support provided by the Central Statistics Team led by the Deputy Head of Profession for Statistics 

• Analysts are supported to provide independent professional advice  

• We recruit our statisticians (and other analysts) in line with DWP values. We also use the Government Statistician Group competency framework for statisticians. Our statisticians are provided with resources required to develop their skills, knowledge and competencies which includes learning to develop as trusted, impartial and impactful communicators of key messages

Be transparent 

• Upcoming statistical publications are listed in the Research and statistics. We aim to provide a 12-month release calendar and announce the date of publication at least four weeks in advance. If we make any changes to the calendar, we clearly explain why

• We publish our statistics on Gov.uk at 9:30am on the announced date 

• Access to our statistics before public release is limited to eligible officials 24 hours ahead of publication, as set out in  Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008. A list of job titles and organisations of people who have been granted 24 hours pre-release access is published Pre-release access to DWP statistics 

• We publish methods, assumptions and limitations, for example through the Background, Information and Methodology

• We explain revisions, corrections and delays clearly in line with the DWP revisions policy 

Manage data responsibly 

• We handle data securely and in line with legal and ethical requirements 

• We apply robust data governance and access controls 

• We are clear about how data are used and protected 

• We publish our Confidentiality policy and data management approach 

Quality 

Prioritise quality 

• We apply structured quality assurance across the statistical lifecycle 

• We review outputs regularly to identify improvements 

Be rigorous 

• We use a variety of different data sources including administrative and survey in the production of our statistics. We consider the quality of each of these in the context of the statistics derived from them

• The statistics we publish are compiled by our statisticians and other analysts using appropriate data and methods

• We document and publish our methodology alongside each of our statistical publications 

• We review and improve methods over time and we re transparent about our approach by providing information alongside our publications and through the DWP statistical work programme 

Be open about quality 

• We publish quality and methodology information with each of our official statistics and ad hocs and have published our quality management approach  to explain how it aligns with our commitment to data quality

• We explain uncertainty, limitations and risks of misinterpretation for example through the Background, Information and Methodology

Value 

Be relevant 

• We aim to produce statistics that are useful, easy to access, relevant and support understanding. Our statistical analysis is publicly available, free of charge

• We engage with users to understand their needs and seek feedback for each of our statistical releases and through the DWP statistical work programme 

• We align our work programme to priority policy and public issues 

• DWP Official Statistics are produced and published to serve the public good and provide accountability over areas of departmental responsibility, policy decisions and the operational implementation of policy 

Be clear 

• We present official statistics clearly and unambiguously. We provide clear statistical commentary to explain trends and key features in the data. Our data visualisations and HTML publications follow best practice guidelines 

• We provide context and explanation to support interpretation, and technical terms are clearly explained 

Be accessible 

• We publish statistics openly on GOV.UK in accessible formats 

• We provide supporting data to enable further use including through Stat-Xplore which is an online tool that allows the creation and download of customised statistical tables, as well as data visualisation through interactive charts

• We offer clear routes for user feedback including through each of our statistical releases, targeted consultations and through the DWP statistical work programme  

Standards for the public use of statistics, data and wider analysis

In addition to compliance with the Standards for Official Statistics, DWP applies the standards for the public use of statistics, data and wider analysis when communicating statistics in the public domain. These 3 standards are built on the concept of intelligent transparency, which is grounded in the core principles of the Code. 

Equality of access

The aim is for official statistics to be the authoritative source of information used in the public domain. However, there may be times when there is a need to use previously unpublished information (including Management Information) in the public domain. In this case, an ad-hoc statistical release will be used to meet equality of access and will be pre-announced and published as soon as possible.

Supporting understanding

Analysts work with communications colleagues to ensure all public statements which feature data and statistics can be verified by published information and that they include appropriate acknowledgement of any uncertainties and context that users need to be aware of if they are to interpret what they mean.

Decision making and leadership

All communications materials which feature data and statistics are cleared by a lead analyst or the DWP chief statistician. Lead analysts provide a core role in the analytical community, working to the head of their directorate in areas across DWP and as a cohesive leadership team in providing expert advice when using statistics and data in the public domain.

Charges for supplementary statistical services 

Supplementary requests for statistics are handled as business as usual, for example, Freedom of Information requests. 

Policies and procedures for DWP statistics 

Information on policies and procedures to ensure official statistics produced by DWP comply with the principles and protocols contained in the Code are published online.

They include the: 

• release practice policy
• revisions and corrections policy
• data management approach and confidentiality policy
• DWP statistical work programme
• public involvement and engagement strategy
• voluntary application of the Code of Practice

Contact information 

Contact DWP by email at statistics.hopsupport@dwp.gov.uk.