Official Statistics

Standards and policies for HM Treasury statistics

Updated 4 February 2026

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1. User engagement

HM Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics are governed by the Code of Practice for Official Statistics[footnote 1] as determined and assessed[footnote 2] by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)[footnote 3]. The Code of Practice is intended to ensure that the range of official statistics meets the needs of users; and that the statistics are produced, managed and disseminated to high standards, and explained well.

The Code of Practice requires producers of official statistics to identify users and their uses of the statistics, and to engage with them on many aspects of the statistics. The Code therefore contains many practices that relate to user engagement. The description of the Value pillar within the Code says that “value is not a static or one-off outcome, but a continuous and interactive process. Producers should engage with users and other stakeholders to understand their needs and be responsive to changing demands, data availability, and policy contexts.”

This statement of user engagement aims to set out the main ways in which the Treasury will engage with users and help them to understand and make the best possible use of the Treasury’s published statistics.

Our intention is to be open and transparent about all our statistics, and to ensure that users have easy access to our statistical data. We aim to help users to understand and make the best possible use of our products by publishing clear supporting commentaries, and comprehensive background information and material, and by encouraging users to contact us with feedback and queries.

1.1 Users and uses

We aim to ensure that our statistical products meet the needs of all our users, both internal and external. Our main users are:

  • Treasury Ministers and Treasury officials;
  • Parliament, including the Treasury Select Committee and the Public Accounts Committee;
  • other government users, including the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), devolved administrations and local government;
  • the Bank of England;
  • financial markets;
  • international organisations, including IMF, OECD, Eurostat and other overseas governments;
  • the Institute for Fiscal Studies;
  • academics and researchers;
  • other research bodies and think tanks;
  • the media; and
  • the general public.

We publish information about our expected users on all of our Accredited Official and Official Statistics releases.

We recognise that our users will have a variety of different requirements and uses for our statistics, which we need to engage with fully and understand. We intend to inform and consult users on our future plans to develop our statistics, and to ensure that these plans meet users’ requirements, as far as our priorities, resources and data sources allow.

Many of our statistical outputs are key information to help the Treasury achieve its main strategic objective to place the public finances on a sustainable footing. The statistical outputs are also used to assess the extent to which the Government meets key economic objectives.

1.2 Networking and consultation

Engagement between Treasury statisticians and key users or user groups takes place regularly, via a range of channels, from formal meetings and conferences to ad hoc events and professional forums. For example, a user survey gathering feedback on the outturn data presented in the Public Spending Statistics (PSS) Accredited Official Statistics releases was launched with the July PSS 2022[footnote 4]. This data also fed into the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) outturn statistics. The Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) release also launched a user survey[footnote 5] to gather feedback after an assessment by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA)[footnote 6].

The Treasury and the ONS have also previously held a public workshop to to consult and inform users about PESA and Public Sector Finances (PSF)[footnote 7]. In addition, the ONS have also previously staged a number of events to explain the impacts on PSF from the implementation of the European System of Accounts 2010[footnote 8], There is also a Public Sector Finances theme group convened by the ONS.

In addition, within the Treasury, statisticians regularly engage with policy colleagues and senior officials to ensure effective and appropriate use is made of statistical resources. Treasury statisticians take part in meetings of the Central and Local Information Partnership (CLIP) a forum to enable central and local government to work together to develop efficient and effective statistical information. More information on CLIP is available on the CLIP website.

The Treasury consults users on any proposed or scheduled changes in content or format of our statistical releases. A full public user consultation was carried out on the PESA Accredited Official Statistics release from December 2011 to March 2012. Full details can be found at the following link: PESA consultation website. In addition, the OSR reviewed the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) release in 2019. A number of content and presentational changes were introduced to meet user needs better. The ONS carried out a user consultation as part of their 2013 Review of Public Sector Finance Statistics. Responses and further details of the review can be found at the following link: 2013 Review of Public Sector Finance Statistics.

Statisticians within Treasury respond to a large number of queries on our releases and data sources. This includes formal requests under the Freedom of Information legislation, as well as more informal requests from the public and colleagues across government. We endeavour to respond to all requests as quickly as possible and in all cases within 20 days.

1.3 Feedback and queries about our statistics

We welcome comments or queries on our releases from all our users and each release has a point of contact for specific enquiries related to that release. In addition, the Treasury maintains a dedicated point of contact for general statistical enquires: statisticsenquiries@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk.

We also periodically collect more structured user feedback on our statistical releases via voluntary online user surveys, linked from the releases themselves. Surveys include users of the Public Spending Statistics (PSS), Public Sector Finances and UK Official holdings of international reserves statistical releases. The latter received too few responses for us to be able to publish a summary on the website. In addition, users are welcome to comment on any aspect of Treasury statistics, or on our policies relating to Accredited Official Statistics, which are available here on our website: HM Treasury statistics: Timetable, standards and policies.

1.4 Outputs

The Treasury will publish timely, relevant, high quality statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. In particular, the Treasury will:

  • publish statistics on pre-announced dates. We publish a timetable of statistical releases for twelve months ahead, which is available on our website, and from the Accredited Official Statistics Publication Hub:
  • Timetable for Treasury statistical releases on the UK Accredited Official Statistics Publication Hub;
  • Timetable for Treasury statistical releases on the HM Treasury website;
  • release our statistics at the standard time of 9.30am (or 7.00am if market sensitive) on a weekday, to maintain consistency and to allow time for users to understand and respond to the information within normal working hours;
  • issue all statistical releases separately from Ministerial policy statements;
  • release our reports as soon as they are judged ready;
  • ensure that all our Accredited Official Statistics releases are made available via the gov.uk website immediately upon release;
  • provide open and accessible routes to allow users to comment or ask questions;
  • respond quickly and accurately to questions and enquiries, or to any complaints; and
  • be transparent if ever we are unable to meet any of these commitments.

1.5 Publication Strategy: making data as widely available, and accessible as possible

We aim to make our Accredited Official Statistics accessible to the widest possible community and to maximise the use of our statistical information by as wide a range of users as possible, subject to the need to comply with legal, ethical and confidentiality constraints. The Treasury publication strategy is based on the following key principles:

  • all our Accredited Official and Official Statistics releases are available on the Gov.UK website;
  • all our Accredited Official and Official Statistics releases are published online and are free to download. (The PESA White Paper is published by TSO as a Command Paper. It is available free to download on our website, and it is available in hard copy for a charge that covers the costs of printing and publication). More information is available on gov.uk;
  • to aid understanding and use of our statistics, all relevant technical and methodological information will be published in advance or alongside our releases;
  • much of the underlying data from our public spending Accredited Official Statistics releases are now made available to download for free from our website or data.gov.uk. This enables end users to carry out their own supplementary analyses, and increases the usability of our data; and
  • revisions to previously published data will be included as far back as possible, to maximise the usability of our data.

1.6 Revisions policy, including pre-announcement and consultation on proposed changes to formats of releases, methods or classifications

Our intention is to be open and transparent about any revisions we make to Accredited Official Statistics and to ensure that users of our statistics have easy access to comprehensive information about those revisions.

Statistical releases will be prepared to a standard format, that will be changed infrequently, and only then with good reason. Our aim will be to maintain consistency as far as possible and to give a full account of any changes to the presentation of our releases. When we do have to make changes to our statistical releases we will give as much notice and forewarning as possible, and we welcome user comments on the proposed changes.

Further information on our approach to revisions is set out in our Revisions Policy available on the website.

1.7 Pre-release access

In some cases it may be necessary for senior officials or ministers to have advance sight of statistical releases before they are made available to the general public. This access ahead of publication is known as pre-release access. Under legislation that came into force in December 2008 (the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008), this pre-release access is strictly controlled and subject to clear limits and rules.

The Treasury is fully compliant with the procedures and regulations on pre-release. Pre-release access is limited to a narrow pre-published list of ministers and senior official post-holders for a maximum period of 24 hours, for the purposes of giving ministerial advice and allowing ministers to be able to respond to figures immediately after they are published. Full details of the Treasury’s pre-release access arrangements are set out in a compliance statement available on our website, and in Section 6 of this document.

The Treasury publishes lists of post-holders with privileged pre-release access to its Accredited Official Statistics releases as follows:

  • Public Spending Statistics pre release access list
  • Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and Help to Buy: ISA pre-release access list
  • Country and regional analysis: pre-release access list

In some exceptional cases, the legislation provides for additional pre-release access in excess of 24 hours, where the statistical release is relevant to a third party publication that is going to be published at the same time or shortly afterwards. The Treasury used this special provision in March 2009 to ensure that data from the Public Sector Finances statistical bulletin, which was released at 9:30am on Budget day, could be incorporated into the Budget document published later that same day. The special arrangements for this exceptional pre-release access were agreed with the National Statistician and were published on the Treasury website:

1.8 Resources

In line with the standard in the Code of Practice on resources it is the intention of the Head of Profession in HM Treasury that adequate resources are devoted to the production of Accredited Official Statistics releases in order to meet user needs.

1.9 Data sources for the Treasury’s statistical releases

The Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics releases are all mainly derived from government and wider public sector financial accounting data held on administrative data systems. As well as for statistical purposes, the data are collected for reporting to Parliament, for instance for the approval of spending plans, or they are collected for departments’ financial management and control of public spending and the wider public finances. Some data are taken directly from banking or accounting sources. Because the key public finance aggregates are compiled using the internationally recognised definitions and frameworks of the National Accounts, the data collection specifications are adapted as far as possible to meet the requirements of the National Accounts.

2. Revisions policy

HM Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics are governed by the Code of Practice for Accredited Official Statistics[footnote 1] as determined and assessed[footnote 2] by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)[footnote 3]. Standard 3.9 of the Code is that “Release revisions and corrections of errors transparently and as soon as possible in line with the organisation’s published policy, being clear about the nature and scale of change.”

Each HM Treasury Accredited Official and Official Statistics release has its own revisions policy, details of which are published in each release. However the general principles for revisions in all these releases are set out in this statement, in accordance with the standards set out in the Code of Practice.

Our intention is to minimise the need for revisions to Accredited Official Statistics, but when these do need to occur, our aim is to be open and transparent about any revisions, and to ensure that users of our statistics have easy access to comprehensive information about those revisions.

2.1 Definitions

A revision is a change to any Official Statistic once it has been placed in the public domain, whether the change is scheduled or unscheduled (including errors), and whether the change is made in a printed document or an item published on the web.

2.2 Purpose of Revisions

HM Treasury Accredited Official Statistics are mainly sourced from financial accounting data, some of which are initially provisional. Where the Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics releases include provisional data, these will routinely be revised, systematically, in subsequent releases until they reflect final accounting data.

Other revisions can also be made:

  • to methodologies or systems to make revised series more accurate or more useful; or
  • to reflect changes in classifications; or
  • for statistics showing spending by government departments, to reflect changes in the functions of departments, for instance through machinery of government changes[footnote 9]

2.3 Revisions policy on scheduled revisions

‘Scheduled’ revisions are managed systematically, are pre-announced, and are scheduled to happen on particular dates, with details of forthcoming and latest revisions included in the revisions section of the relevant release. Such revisions will take place at the next scheduled release of the series.

Scheduled revisions usually occur for the following reasons:

  • where they form a normal part of the release process for a given series, because the series initially reflect provisional financial accounting data, which are subsequently revised until they reflect final accounting data;
  • to reflect changes in methodologies or systems, or changes in classifications, or changes in the organisation of government.

For all scheduled revisions, our intention is to give as much prior notice as possible before making any changes to previously published statistics. We would normally announce the schedule for the revision in the preceding release.

For those scheduled revisions involving changes which are deemed by the Head of Profession to materially change the basis or the format of the statistics in such a way that users would benefit from documentation in order to understand the changes better, the Treasury’s policy is to issue a substantive technical note, well in advance of the scheduled release date for the revised series, containing as much information as possible. This note will contain full background and details on the forthcoming changes; and it will be published via the usual arrangements for the relevant statistical release.

In the case of the market-sensitive monthly public sector finances release, published in conjunction with ONS, however, difficult decisions sometimes have to be taken about the most appropriate way to balance competing principles. The National Statistician/Heads of Profession reserve the right to decide when users’ right to know about scheduled revisions or impending corrections (see below) must give way to the requirement not to create market uncertainty. In such exceptional circumstances, and in due course, we will explain the reason for our chosen course of action.

2.4 Revisions policy on unscheduled revisions

‘Unscheduled’ revisions are those which do not fit into the managed pattern of revisions described above, and which need to be made at times additional to the scheduled releases. These can be caused, for instance, by errors, or other changes that are ‘avoidable’ in the sense that they are the consequence of changes that have happened because of errors or weaknesses in our procedures or systems, rather than by design.

For any unscheduled revisions, and regardless of whether the responsibility for any errors is ours or others, we will follow the procedures described below: We will be open and transparent about the need for any unscheduled corrections and, in normal circumstances, if we ascertain the need for a correction that is substantial or significant, we will inform users about our intention to issue corrections, and by when. We will announce the correction through a prominent alert on our website, and include details about the timetable for the correction; the size and direction of the correction; and the reason for its occurrence. We will also place a notice on the UK Accredited Official Statistics publication hub at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html.

Decisions relating to the dissemination of unscheduled corrections will be approved by the Head of Profession in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time but in general terms:

Web versions of releases/publications/tables/articles/etc:

  • As soon as possible after we ascertain that a correction is necessary and warranted, we will amend all current electronic versions of any release, publication, table, article etc which contains the affected statistics or text, and re-populate the website as soon as possible with those amended versions. If the correction is minor or insignificant in the sense of being inconsequential and hardly noticeable, we will include a note alerting readers to the fact that certain (albeit insubstantial) corrections have been incorporated, which statistics have been affected, and the reasons for the corrections, but we will not inform users separately. If the error is substantial or significant, we will, in addition, alert users and pre-announce the date for the issuance of the corrections through the procedures set out above.

2.5 Specific revision policies for the Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics releases

The Treasury has four Accredited Official Statistics publications and two regular Official Statistics publication (excluding the transparency releases of underlying data-sets). HM Treasury also produced a standalone COVID-19 Cost Tracker Official Statistics publication, in collaboration with the National Audit Office (NAO).

Three of these publications are subject to scheduled revisions and details of the revisions policy for these are below:

The Treasury publishes two Accredited Official Statistics releases containing public spending data:

  • the main annual Public Spending Accredited Official Statistics release, included within Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA), published in July each year;
  • three in-year Public Spending Accredited Official Statistics update releases, published in November, February and May, which update key series between the annual release, and which are timed to include latest provisional or final outturn data, as soon as they become available as set out in the table below:
Release Update
July (main PESA release) Provisional outturn for most central government (Whitehall) departments
November Final outturn for central government (Whitehall) departments, provisional outturn for English local government and updated Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) figures
February Final outturn for English local government and central government (Devolved Administrations).
May Final outturn for all local government.

The data in all these public spending releases are open for revision in every release, to ensure that the latest and most up to date data are published. Long-run data are published on a consistent classification basis, as far back as possible.

Other revision policies

HM Treasury’s other Accredited Official Statistics releases include:

  • The UK Holdings of Official International Reserves. This is a monthly release produced from financial management data sourced from the Bank of England, who manage the reserves on behalf of the Government.
  • The Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) Release. This is based on OSCAR[footnote 10] data used in the annual PESA release as the starting point, incorporating some revisions supplied by departments as well as updated ONS figures for public sector debt interest and some revised local government data.

These releases are not usually subject to scheduled revisions as there are usually no movements after the first publication of data. Unscheduled revisions, resulting from processing errors, do occur very infrequently. There have been minimal instances of revisions since 2006, which were highlighted and explained in the subsequent releases. We would follow similar procedures in future assuming the revisions were insignificant. If they were deemed to be significant by the Head of Profession we would follow the procedures outlined in the section above on unscheduled revisions.

HM Treasury’s Official Statistics releases are:

For these releases, National Savings and Investments (NS&I), who administer the scheme on behalf of HM Treasury, collect data from providers participating in the scheme in accordance with monitoring and reporting requirements set by HM Treasury.

There should be relatively few scheduled revisions as the data is compiled from an established administrative system. Where there are scheduled revisions these will be indicated in the time series and highlighted in the Releases. If there were a significant unscheduled revision (for example from a significant error in the result of the compilation, imputation or dissemination process), the statistical releases and accompanying tables would be updated with a correction notice as soon as is practical.

Lastly, the COVID-19 Cost Tracker was published as Official Statistics. It contains statistics on the cost of measures announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how much the government has spent on these measures. In 2022, HM Treasury proposed to publish two annual iterations of the COVID-19 Cost Tracker, providing updates on all active measures where there had been a ‘material change’ in spend since the NAO publication in June 2022[footnote 11]. After considering, HM Treasury decided instead to provide an update covering all remaining active measures as of June 2022.

3. Arrangements for protecting the confidentiality of information used for statistical purposes

HM Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics are governed by the Code of Practice for Accredited Official Statistics[footnote 1] as determined and assessed[footnote 2] by the UK Statistics Authority[footnote 3]. Standard 4.5 of the Code is that statistics producers should “Protect the confidentiality of individual and business information when producing statistics. Be transparent about the choices made in line with the producer’s published confidentiality policy and apply appropriate disclosure control methods before release”.

3.1 Definition

Data are defined as containing confidential information when the information:

  • relates to an identifiable entity (including members of the public or corporate organisations);
  • is not in the public domain; and
  • if disclosed would cause them damage, harm or distress.

3.2 Policy

All Treasury staff are required to complete training on Government security Classifications and Responsibility for Information short training packages on Civil Service Learning that outlines the standard rules and procedures that all staff must follow in the handling of sensitive data.

Within the Treasury a number of statisticians produce analyses and compile statistical releases using administrative or statistical data, where some of the data contain confidential information relating to individuals or organisations. All access to and use of these confidential data for statistical purposes is in line with the standards and practices laid out in the Code of Practice. In particular:

  • all confidential data for statistics are stored on separate areas of the internal network and access is strictly restricted to a limited number of staff who need it for statistical purposes. These staff undergo the training and sign the declaration described below;
  • all staff involved in the production of statistical analyses and official statistics from datasets that include any confidential data are required to undergo training on the confidentiality aspects of the Code of Practice, and to sign a declaration that they will uphold the principles and practices of the Code including in relation to confidentiality. This declaration is available as an Annex to this document; and
  • all statistical staff are required to ensure that no confidential information is disclosed in any release of official statistics or underlying data, or in response to any request for further information.

Where requests for information are dealt with under the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts, then Sections 41 and 43 of the Freedom of Information Act protect information provided in confidence or where release would prejudice commercial interests. The Data Protection Act also protects personal data.

3.3 Annex: Management information disclosure declaration

Access to management information that will generate Accredited Official or Official Statistics, prior to the release of those Statistics or that contain confidential or disclosive data

Declaration to be made by any person to be granted access to management information prior to the publication of related official statistics.

I require access to management information and similar data for day-to-day production, management/operation or decision-making purposes, in advance of their publication as statistics.

I undertake to comply with the following conditions:

  1. not to disclose the statistics, confidential data, any part of a publication that includes those statistics, or any suggestion of the size or direction of any trend indicated by those statistics;

  2. not to use this access for personal gain or for any use outside my official functions;

  3. not to use data for the purpose of presenting or defending official policies or to take any action for political advantage; and,

  4. not to use this access to change or compromise the content, presentation or the timing of publication of the statistics.

In the event of any doubts about the appropriate use of the management information I shall obtain advice from the Head of Profession for Statistics (Tom Orford).

Signed [Signature]
Name [Name in block capitals]
Position [Job Title]
Date [DD/MM/YYY]

4. Policy, principles, procedures and guidelines on quality

HM Treasury’s Accredited Official Statistics are governed by the Code of Practice for Accredited Official Statistics[footnote 1] as determined and assessed[footnote 2] by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)[footnote 3]. The Code is intended to ensure that the range of Accredited Official and Official Statistics meets the needs of users; and that the statistics are produced, managed and disseminated to high standards, and explained well.

Standards 6 and 7 of the Code are that “Producers must use suitable data sources and sound methods, and assure the quality of the statistics across the production and release processes.” and “Producers must prominently explain the quality of the statistics, including strengths and limitations, and communicate the uncertainty in estimates.”

Each Treasury Accredited and Official Statistics release includes specific information about the quality of the statistics contained in the release. However the general policy, principles, procedures and guidelines for managing quality in all these releases are set out in this statement, in accordance with the requirements set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

We aim to ensure that all our statistics are produced to a high level of quality that meets users’ needs, and that our methods are robust, well documented, and consistent with relevant international standards and classifications. We intend to be open and transparent about the quality of all the statistics we publish and to ensure that users of our statistics have easy access to comprehensive information about all quality-related aspects of our statistical releases.

4.1 Definitions

The statistical quality of the Treasury’s statistical outputs is defined as meeting users’ needs in relation to the five quality criteria in the European Statistical System (ESS)[footnote 12]:

  • relevance – the degree to which statistics meet the current and future needs of users;
  • accuracy and reliability – the degree of closeness between estimated results and the true value that the statistics were intended to measure;
  • timeliness and punctuality – the former is the length of time between publication and the period to which the data refer, whilst the latter is the length of time between the actual and planned publication dates;
  • accessibility and clarity – the former is the ease with which users can access the data, including the suitability of the data formats and availability of supporting information. The latter relates to the extent to which easily understandable metadata are available which help to give an impartial and full understanding of the statistics;
  • coherence and comparability – the former is the degree to which statistical outputs are produced using harmonised concepts and methods and can be combined and the latter is the degree to which data is comparable over time, place and domain.

In addition, we also consider the quality of the underlying processes in the context of ESS criteria. Overall this has two broad aspects:

  • effectiveness – how successful the process is at delivering desired outcomes and meeting business needs;
  • efficiency – the cost effectiveness of producing the desired outcomes for both data providers and producers of statistics The four specific process quality criteria are:
  • sound methodology that underpin the production of the statistics;
  • appropriate statistical procedures that are used in all aspects of statistical business processes;
  • non-excessive burden on respondents: reporting burdens that are proportionate to the needs of users and not excessive for reporters. – how well the process deliver results against challenging demands; and
  • cost effectiveness: effective use of resources.

Additional process quality components that can impact on outputs are confidentiality, transparency and security.

4.2 General policy on quality

The Treasury endeavours to produce statistical outputs of the highest possible quality, balanced against costs, consistent with our duties on efficient use of public resources, and taking into account the expected uses of the statistics. We focus on both output (our statistical releases) and process quality (the latter including the underlying methods used to produce our outputs).

New information will be communicated as it emerges on aspects of quality for our Accredited Official and Official Statistics releases. Relevant information will be disseminated in the releases themselves and on our website. All our releases will include information on quality related aspects of the statistics.

We review quality aspects of our outputs and our underlying data collection and processes on a regular basis. In particular we review:

  • the results and effectiveness of the quality assurance processes for data collected onto the Treasury’s central spending database (OSCAR)[footnote 10]. This database records the spending of all central government departments, including the devolved administrations, and wider non-departmental public bodies which are funded by departments;
  • the transparency and accuracy of the processes that compile published statistics from source data;
  • data issues that arise from data processing in the run up to releases;
  • our methodologies and classification systems, to ensure that we keep these up to date with the latest developments, both in terms of the classification of particular items of data, and in terms of developments in external frameworks, such as international classifications;
  • our documentation and guidance, for instance to ensure that departments have clear and detailed guidance on how individual items of expenditure should be classified and recorded.

The Treasury’s Head of Profession maintains sole responsibility for the content and format of all statistical outputs that are published as Accredited Official Statistics.

4.3 Specific aspects of output quality in HM Treasury

Relevance

We aim to review our outputs regularly to ensure that they remain relevant to users’ requirements. We inform and consult users on our future plans to develop our statistics, and ensure that these plans meet users’ requirements, as far as our priorities, resources and data sources allow. We welcome all feedback from users on their detailed requirements, and the extent to which these are met by our existing releases and analyses, as well as our additional releases of underlying data. Feedback can be sent at any time to statistics-enquiries@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk. Our policy on user engagement is set out in the User Engagement section.

Accuracy and Reliability

The Treasury’s Accredited Official and Official Statistics releases are all derived from government and wider public sector financial accounting data held on administrative data systems. As well as for statistical purposes, many of these administrative data are collected for reporting to Parliament, so that Parliament can approve spending plans, and for the Treasury to monitor and control departmental spending or tax receipts and in the case of Help to Buy statistics to inform the operation of the scheme. Some data are taken directly from banking or accounting sources.

Where data are taken directly from audited financial data or final accounts as is the case with many of the Public Spending statistics, then the main concerns over accuracy are based on the accuracy of the mapping of commercial accounting concepts into the classifications of the Treasury’s spending database, which reflecting the design of the fiscal framework is based on National Accounts.

For monthly spending statistics, which are more prone to revision as they are often based on forecast data, we regularly conduct analysis of revisions and will if appropriate make statistical adjustments to reduce revisions based on past trends. We may also utilise information from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s fiscal forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO)[footnote 13] to help reduce future revisions.

The Treasury uses the following processes to ensure that data are correctly recorded and classified on our spending database:

  • we issue and maintain a comprehensive and consolidated set of guidance notes for finance teams in departments to refer to when inputting data from their finance systems. We also provide training to departments on how to record and code their data inputs;
  • we work closely with departments to understand the processes involved in extracting data from their underlying financial systems;
  • we conduct regular quality assurance checks to verify that data inputs are complete and correctly coded;
  • we provide monthly feedback to departments on the quality of their data with respect to accuracy, timeliness and the need to correct errors.
  • we require Finance Directors in departments to sign off and confirm that key financial inputs are accurate and have been suitably validated within the department; and
  • when provisional outturn data are replaced with final audited data, we require departments to ensure the accuracy of their final inputs against their accounts.

When analyses are prepared for publication, we use further quality assurance procedures, including:

  • analyses of revisions (changes since the previous release) to ensure that the changes in the outputs can be accounted for in terms of known changes in the inputs;
  • cross-checks for consistency, both internally, and with external published sources wherever possible; and
  • we also ask key contributors and stakeholders to check relevant sections of our final analyses, which provides both additional accountability and quality assurance.

Timeliness and punctuality

The Treasury releases are published on an annual, monthly or quarterly basis, with release dates scheduled as soon as latest data are ready for publication. All releases, except for Public Sector Finances (PSF)[footnote 14], are published on the scheduled release date at 9.30am to maintain equality, transparency, and consistency of access. Release dates are announced up to one year ahead on the Treasury’s own website[footnote 15].

Accessibility and clarity

We aim to make our releases as clear, widely available and accessible as possible. This includes providing access to the underlying data, subject to the constraints of confidentiality. We release the underlying data from the OSCAR public spending database on both annually and quarterly as Official Statistics. In addition, both the CRA and the annual PSS (July) release publish underlying databases alongside the publication. Further details of how we aim to do this are set out in our statement of user engagement, and all of our releases and data can be accessed via links provided on the HM Treasury statistics: Timetable, standards and policies page or on gov.uk.

Coherence and Comparability

All Treasury statistics are internally coherent, consistent and reconcilable over a reasonable period of time, subject to the caveats explained in each release. Our statistics are compiled on the basis of common international standards with respect to scope, definitions, units and classifications.

We also aim as far as possible to be coherent with other departments’ Accredited Official Statistics in order to enable comparability and re-use of our data. For example we have designed the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme Official Statistics release to be fully consistent with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s release on the equity loan element of the scheme so that users will be able to produce combined statistics on the scheme. We use relevant international frameworks for concepts and definitions wherever possible, for example the European Unions’ European System of Accounts[footnote 16] transactions and sector classifications and the UN’s Classification of Government Spending (COFOG)[footnote 17] and to ensure that technical and methodological information is published in advance or alongside our releases.

We try to minimise revisions as much as possible, and to ensure that any revisions to previously published data are taken as far back in time as possible. Revision policies are published with each release. Our revisions policy is available out on the Treasury statistics website here.

Protection of confidential data

We follow the practices set out by the Cabinet Office on protection of data within government and we comply with all the principles and procedures related to confidentiality in the Code of Practice. In particular:

  • all access to confidential data for statistical purposes is strictly limited to a narrow group of statistical staff who need to use it for statistical purposes;
  • all staff with access to confidential data for statistical purposes are required to undergo training on the confidentiality aspects of the Code of Practice; and
  • all individuals with access to confidential data for statistical purposes sign a declaration that they will uphold the principles and practices of the Code in relation confidentiality.

Further details on our policies on protection of confidential data used for statistics are set out in our data confidentiality statement available here

5. Use of Administrative Sources for Statistical Purposes

5.1 Background

Accredited Official statistics published by the Treasury are mainly based on data extracted from administrative and management data systems. By using data which are already available within administrative or management systems, rather than collecting data afresh, we are able to limit the overall burden placed on data providers, and also avoid the costs of mounting dedicated data collection exercises. In addition, the information we extract from such systems often has the advantage of being more timely than some statistical data and, when compared with data from surveys (and particularly sample surveys), can also deliver data with a greater breadth of coverage.

The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) actively encourages public bodies to exploit administrative and management sources for statistical purposes. However they recognise that the statistical advantages of such arrangements can only be fully realised if statisticians have appropriate access to such systems; if statistical purposes are reflected in the design, management, and development of such systems; and if adequate safeguards are put in place to ensure the professional integrity of any official statistics derived from them.

The UKSA‘s main requirements are set out in the third Protocol attached to their Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Amongst other things, this Protocol requires all producers of official statistics to publish, in consultation with the National Statistician, a ‘Statement of Administrative Sources’ which lists:

The remainder of this section is the Quality Assurance of Administrative Data used in HM Treasury official statistics. This section provides an assessment of the administrative data sources used in the compilation of the these statistics in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit. For the jointly produced Public Sector Finance statistics, the ONS have also published an article, Quality assurance of administrative data used in the UK public sector finances. The toolkit focuses on four areas of practice associated with data quality:

  • operational context and administrative data collection
  • communication with data supply partners
  • quality assurance (QA) principles, standards and checks by data suppliers and internal or external audit in the data assurance process
  • producers’ QA investigations and documentation.

5.2 Statement of Administrative Sources

The following tables describe the administrative/management sources which the Treasury currently uses to produce official statistics or which have the potential to be so used, differentiating between those sources which are owned and managed by ourselves, and those administered or managed by other organisations. Currently, the Treasury has no other administrative sources with the potential to be used for statistical purposes.

5.3 Table 1: Statistical usage of Treasury administrative or management sources

Name/title of administrative data source Name of overarching administrative system Main administrative purpose of this source/system Geospatial coverage Titles of all Treasury statistical products derived from this source
Central Government (CG) accounts data City Financials Accounts for Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund, and other central funds administered by the Treasury UK Public Sector Finances (PSF) statistical bulletin
The Swing (daily cash flow monitoring) City Financials Intra-day Treasury Exchequer management cash flow forecasting and monitoring UK  
Keynes return City Financials Compilation of the Keynes return (determinants and financing items of the CG net cash requirement). UK PSF bulletin
Financial year outturns for accrued public expenditure, covering the previous five years, plus monthly outturns for CG expenditure, for the current year OSCAR OSCAR is used to collect accrued financial data from all government departments, to monitor and control public spending, and to produce financial reports for Parliament. It is also designed as the source of data for statistical releases. UK Source for almost all of Public Spending related publications (e.g. PESA, CRA). Source for almost all the key series updates for public expenditure statistics. Source for most CG in year spending data in PSF bulletin.

5.4 Table 2: Statistical usage of other organisations’ administrative or management sources.

Name/title of administrative data source Name of organisation responsible for this system/source Main administrative purpose of this source/system Geospatial coverage Titles of all Treasury statistical products derived from this source
Financial information on UK international reserves held at the Bank of England Bank of England To provide financial information on UK international reserves managed by the Bank of England on behalf of Treasury UK UK official holdings of international reserves
Help to Buy: ISA and Mortgage Guarantee Scheme operational data National Savings and Investments (NS&I) To allow NS&I to operate and monitor the Help to Buy: ISA and Mortgage Guarantee Scheme on behalf of Treasury. UK Help to Buy: ISA and Mortgage Guarantee Scheme Official Statistics

5.5 Governance arrangements for the Treasury administrative or management sources

Detailed information on City Financials

Arrangements for providing statistical staff (whether inside or outside the organisation) with access to administrative or management sources for statistical purposes

Members of the Treasury Fiscal Statistics and Policy (FSP) team have log-ins to the ACME system, allowing them read only access to the accounting data from which analyses and extracts are assembled for the PSF bulletin in a separate database held on the same platform.

Sources of data collected

Bank statements of the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund; of other central government funds and Government departments’ accounts with the Government Banking Service; and transactions initiated or monitored by the Treasury Exchequer Funds and Accounts (EFA) team.

Arrangements for auditing the quality of the original source data

The annual accounts of the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund, and of other central funds and accounts are subject to audit by the National Audit Office (NAO). Additional quality assurance of the analyses produced from these (and from other inputs) is provided by the PSF team in the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS has access to data at a highly disaggregated i.e. transaction level so it is possible, where necessary, to check these in great detail.

Procedures for handling changes, and possible discontinuities, in the underlying source data

Where ever possible discontinuities arising from changes to the way in which the source data are generated e.g. when accounting conventions change are avoided by using a consistent analysis and extraction framework. Again this is greatly facilitated by access to data at a highly disaggregated level. Where unavoidable an alternative providing the best match to the concept required is agreed by the PSF (Statistics) Technical Advisory Group – PSF(S)TAG – and is adopted from the start of a new financial year.

Procedures for ensuring the security of the statistical processes which use administrative or management sources

Only the nominated members of the Treasury FSP team have access to the resultant analyses and summaries, reports from which are held on a shared network drive with similarly controlled access.

Detailed information on OSCAR (Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting)

Arrangements for providing statistical staff (whether inside or outside the organisation) with access to administrative or management sources for statistical purposes

Treasury statistical staff have real-time access to all spending data recorded on OSCAR.

Sources of data collected

Most data are supplied by departments from their internal accounting systems. Published local government data are also loaded onto OSCAR by Treasury statisticians

Arrangements for auditing the quality of the original source data

  • OSCAR in general: Treasury provide guidance and training for users of OSCAR including on the reason for and importance of its use for statistical purposes. Statisticians from HM Treasury regularly attend Process Owner user groups that review and oversee OSCAR related issues that impact user ability, such as performance and change requests for upload modifications. Where applicable, statisticians also provide assistance in defining validations and the accounting systems in use on OSCAR. Statisticians from Treasury also publish PES papers to ensure that data suppliers are aware of any changes to data requirements, timetables and priorities for the statistics produced from OSCAR.

  • PESA: For most data collected on OSCAR for PESA, departments submit data as changes, to adjust the data currently held on the system. These adjustments are loaded, for example, when departments replace provisional outturn with final outturn. Teams of (non-statistical) staff check and approve/reject these journals. A central team of statisticians then perform further quality assurance checks prior to publication of the data. The data on OSCAR used for PESA National Statistics should be consistent with departmental Resource Accounts that are audited by the NAO.

  • PSF: For in-year PSF data, departments provide complete data sets each month rather than loading adjustments to adjust from previous estimates. A central team of statisticians perform detailed quality assurance checks prior to publication of the data in PSF.

These checks are mainly focussed on sense-checking reported patterns of spend including against from previous months and year’s submissions. The data are also quality-assured in similar detail by the ONS who use the data in compiling National Accounts.

Departments are further required to ensure that the data are signed off (by their Finance Director) to confirm the quality of these data. Treasury provides each department with a quality report each month which contribute towards the assessment of the performance of department’s finance teams and permanent secretaries. Treasury compare the outputs from OSCAR with those from ACME to provide a comparison between cash and accrued data.

Unexpected differences are identified and investigated. Where possible, department’s delivery schedules are aligned to their monthly board reporting schedule so that OSCAR contains accurate data consistent with department’s internal views. Departmental monthly ledgers from the data are loaded on to the system form the basis of the departmental resource accounts that are audited by the NAO.

Procedures for handling changes, and possible discontinuities, in the underlying source data

Data for the most recent 5 years (the period published direct from OSCAR) are maintained against latest classifications to remove any discontinuities.

Procedures for ensuring the security of the statistical processes which use administrative or management sources

All data extracted from OSCAR for statistical publications are stored securely on dedicated sections of the Treasury network, to which only Treasury statisticians have access.

6. Statement of compliance with the Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008

6.1 Summary

This statement is published in conformance with the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008 which was approved by Parliament under Section 11 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and which came into effect on 1 December 2008.

The statement sets out the operational arrangements within HM Treasury for giving Treasury ministers, and where appropriate ministers from other departments and the devolved administration, and a limited number of supporting officials pre-release access to the Treasury official statistics once they are in their final form prior to publication.

These arrangements are designed to ensure that such access is justified, limited, controlled and publicised as well as complies with statutory requirements. Their purpose is to maintain public confidence in the integrity of official statistics while also allowing Treasury (and other) ministers to account immediately for the implications of statistics covering policy or operational areas for which they, themselves, are responsible.

6.2 Introduction

This statement sets out the operational arrangements within HM Treasury for giving Treasury (and other) Ministers’ and their briefing officials’ pre-release access to Treasury official statistics once they are in their final form prior to publication. These arrangements are designed to ensure that such access is justified, limited, controlled and publicised as well as complies with statutory requirements. Their purpose is to maintain public confidence in the integrity of official statistics while allowing ministers to account immediately for the implications of statistics covering policy areas for which they are democratically responsible.

6.3 Exclusion

Different arrangements apply to Ministers’ and officials’ access to the organisation’s own administrative data or management information where those data subsequently form the basis for published official statistics. These are set out in Annex C.

6.4 Authority

These arrangements have been drawn up by the Treasury’s Head of Profession for Statistics in consultation with Treasury Ministers and the Permanent Secretary. The Head of Profession for Statistics is responsible for ensuring the day-to-day implementation of these arrangements.

6.5 General Principle

The Treasury operates under the general principle that in line with the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008, pre-release access to official statistics must be limited to the minimum number of persons deemed necessary to allow Treasury Ministers to either:

  • provide responses to questions, or make statements about those statistics at, or shortly after, their time of publication; or
  • take action just before, at, or shortly after the time of publication; and
  • allowed only in those circumstances where the public benefit likely to result from such access outweighs the detriment to public trust in official statistics likely to result from so doing.

6.6 Grant of advance access

The arrangements set out in this statement are confined to those persons who meet the eligibility criteria set out in Annex A. Recipients can, in addition, share their access with their immediate administrative support staff even though those staff may not directly engage with the statistics in question. Their advance access is limited to statistics which meet the eligibility criteria set out in Annex A and which are in their final form prior to being published for the first time.

All new requests for advance access must be accompanied by a business case that demonstrates that they are in line with the Order for the Head of Profession for Statistics to make a judgement on. The presumption is that they will be refused unless full compliance with the eligibility criteria outlined in the Order is demonstrated.

Any significant increase in advance access must be cleared by the Permanent Secretary.

6.7 Documentation and Publication

In the interests of openness and transparency, the Treasury maintains a public record on its website listing the titles of all the statistical releases to which these arrangements apply, as well as the job titles of all those persons to whom pre-release access has been granted, and the organisations to which they belong.

The complete list of official statistics to which this Statement applies can be found on the HM Treasury statistics: Timetable, standards and policies page. Clicking on the title of each pre-release list will show a list of which persons have been given access to each release. (The justification for giving advance access to each listed recipient is available on request).

The Public Sector Finances (PSF) release is jointly produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Treasury. The published document that outlines the detail of these arrangements is clear that the ONS is responsible for pre-release access for PSF. In line with the National Statistician’s decision to stop pre-release access to ONS statistics, announced in his letter to Sir David Norgrove of 15 June, from 1 July 2017 Treasury ministers and officials therefore no longer have pre-release access to PSF. Full details of HM Treasury access to PSF data are also available on the HM Treasury statistics: Timetable, standards and policies page.

6.8 Period of access

In line with legislation, pre-release access to the Treasury’s official statistics is restricted to a maximum of 24 hours before their public release on the following day – usually at 9.30am.

In exceptional circumstances only, and in accordance with Principle 5 of the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008, the Head of Profession for Statistics may grant pre-release access in excess of 24 hours. They will only do this if, in their opinion, the public benefit outweighs the detriment to public trust which is likely to result from such extended access.

When this happens, the Head of Profession will publish on the Treasury’s website their reasons for granting extended access, and will also inform the UK Statistics Authority’s Chief Executive – the National Statistician.

6.9 Conditions of access

Those persons who are given access to the Treasury official statistics ahead of their release must keep the statistics secure and under embargo, and they must abide by the following conditions of access. They must avoid:

  • disclosing the statistics or any part of a publication containing those statistics to any person not listed as a pre-release recipient;
  • providing any indication of the size or direction of any trend revealed by the statistics;
  • using such access for personal gain, or taking any action for political advantage; and
  • exploiting such access to change or compromise the content, presentation, or timing of publication of official statistics.

Where the statistics in question are market-sensitive, each recipient must sign a declaration to the above effect.

6.10 Special circumstances

Aside from the circumstances described above, the Head of Profession may also allow access to statistics ahead of their release to a limited number of persons in a limited number of special circumstances, sometimes for more than 24 hours. In each case, such access will be documented in the relevant release.

6.11 Breach of conditions of release

In the event where the Treasury becomes aware that a lapse in release practices for any Treasury Accredited Official or Official Statistics has led to a substantive breach of the principles and rules set out in the legislation and described in this Statement, the Head of Profession for Statistics will notify the National Statistician; take action to prevent a recurrence; and provide the UK Statistics Authority with a written explanation using the Authority’s standard Breach reporting form. The National Statistician may decide to conduct an inquiry on behalf of the Authority, the results of which will be posted on the Authority’s website. In the case of minor breaches, or genuinely accidental breaches which have no major repercussions, the Head of Profession may deal with the matter informally.

6.12 Sanctions against non-compliance

The HM Treasury Head of Profession for Statistics may, for a period, withdraw pre-release access from any person judged to have breached the conditions of their access.

In addition, a heavier sanction can be imposed by the UK Statistics Authority which has a statutory duty to assess the extent to which any organisation’s ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ comply with the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008 and with the associated obligations set out in this Statement. The Authority can, for instance, challenge an organisation where it considers that pre-release access to an Accredited Official Statistic is not justified or where an organisation is failing to conform to these arrangements. It can also withdraw, or consider withdrawing, ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ designation from the statistics in question.

In the event of any such challenge or withdrawal the Head of Profession will publish the Treasury response or reaction on its website along with its plans for achieving conformance.

6.13 Annex A: Criteria for granting Pre-Release Access

Categories of persons within government to whom HM Treasury would normally grant pre-release access to its statistical releases:

  • Ministers who have policy or operational responsibility for a particular subject matter covered by a statistical release; who are accountable to Parliament and the electorate for their stewardship of that policy; and who may need to respond to questions about the statistics, or take appropriate action, at the time of release of those statistics;
  • Chief Executives who have operational responsibility for a particular activity covered by a release, and who are accountable for their stewardship of that activity to Ministers, and through them to Parliament; and who are in a similar position to those Ministers described above;
  • top Departmental or Agency officials with ultimate responsibility for formulating, developing, maintaining, monitoring or implementing that policy;
  • other Departmental or Agency officials who have been assigned the specific responsibility to brief Ministers or Chief Executives about the statistics in question (e.g. Special Advisers, Policy Advisers, Analysts); and
  • Departmental Press Officers responsible for managing Ministers’ interface with the media with respect to the policy or statistics in question. (plus any immediate ancillary staff who support the above)

Categories of statistical release to which HM Treasury would normally grant pre-release access:

  • releases categorised as ‘market-sensitive’ (i.e. releases which embody statistics which, when disclosed, would be reasonably likely to have a significant effect on the value or traded volume of any investment);
  • releases which incorporate statistics which are used to monitor or measure the government’s performance (either generally, or against formal targets);
  • releases which have the potential to impinge substantially on the formulation, implementation, or monitoring of government policy;
  • releases which have the potential to inform, or impact on, decisions about the allocation of public funds;
  • releases which have, demonstrably and historically, had a high public profile (i.e. regularly generate column inches in the print media or regularly attract the attention of the broadcast media) and on which Ministers or Chief Executives with responsibility for the subject-matter might reasonably be expected to comment at the time of release;
  • releases which incorporate statistics derived from other departments’ or agencies’ administrative or management systems, and for which Ministers or Chief Executives in those other departments have ownership and operational responsibility;
  • compendia publications (e.g. Social Trends, Regional Trends etc. which often include data which have already been released) or complex publications which have been made available to the media in advance of their public release, and under embargo, in order to give journalists time to absorb and understand their contents; and
  • releases which cover matters of wide public interest.

6.14 Annex B: Definitional Notes

Pre-release access

In the context described above, the phrase ‘pre-release access’ covers privileged access to statistical releases in their final form prior to being placed in the public domain. It does not cover pre-release access available to:

  • those staff intimately engaged in the process of producing and disseminating the statistics in question (including those responsible for overseeing this process); or
  • those persons requested by producers of statistics to quality assure their statistics before their public release.

Heads of Profession for Statistics

Organisations which employ a large number of official statisticians, or produce a large number of official statistics will normally appoint a Head of Profession for Statistics in consultation with the National Statistician. As well as being accountable to their own Minister and departmental line-managers, Heads of Profession are responsible to the National Statistician for the professional integrity of the statisticians whom they manage, and for the quality of the statistics which those statisticians produce. In particular they are responsible for observing the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Official Statistics as well as any professional standards set by the National Statistician.

6.15 Annex C: Arrangements for access to the Department’s own administrative data

Accredited Official and Official Statistics published by the Treasury are mainly based on data extracted from the Treasury’s administrative and management data systems or from similar systems owned and managed by external organisation on the Treasury’s behalf. The details are set out in the Treasury’s Statement of Administrative Sources.

Treasury ministers and staff, both statistical and non-statistical, who have access to management information extracted from these administrative sources that will form the basis of published Accredited Official and Official Statistics prior to their publication are required to sign the declaration below undertaking that they will comply with the principles and practices of the Code of Practise for Official Statistics. These declarations are stored on a database and this is used to audit communications of management information.

Access to management information that will generate Accredited Official or Official Statistics, prior to the release of those Statistics

Declaration to be made by any person to be granted access to management information prior to the publication of related official statistics.

1: I require access to management information and similar data for day-to-day management/operation or decision-making purposes, in advance of their publication as statistics.

2: I undertake to comply with the following conditions –

(i) not to disclose the statistics, any part of a publication that includes those statistics, or any suggestion of the size or direction of any trend indicated by those statistics;

(ii) not to use this access for personal gain or for any use outside my official functions;

(iii) not to use data for the purpose of presenting or defending official policies or to take any action for political advantage; and,

(iv) not to use this access to change or compromise the content, presentation or the timing of publication of the statistics.

3: In the event of any doubts about the appropriate use of the management information I shall obtain advice from the Head of Profession for Statistics (Tom Orford).

Signed [Signature]
Name [Name in Block Capitals]
Position [Job Title]
Date [DD/MM/YYYY]

Tom Orford

Head of Profession for Statistics, HM Treasury

  1. https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. The Treasury’s National Statistics outputs were assessed against the requirements of the Code of Practice by the UK Statistics Authority in 2011 and 2015. The assessment reports for Public Sector Finances and Public Spending are available from the Authority’s website. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. A summary of the survey findings is available to read in the PSS July 2023 release ↩

  5. A summary of the CRA survey findings are available in the CRA 2021 guidance publication, within the data quality section. ↩

  6. https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/statistics-on-government-spending-country-and-regional-analysis/ ↩

  7. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160109042149/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/psa/public-sector-finances/june-2012/public-sector-finances-user-engagement-workshop—summary–june-2012.html ↩

  8. the revised EU-wide accounting standards for National Accounts and the ONS’s review of Public Sector Finance Statistics. ↩

  9. Machinery of government is the generic term that refers to the way that central government is organised. More information is available at: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/machinery-government-changes ↩

  10. The Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting is the Treasury’s public expenditure database ↩ ↩2

  11. https://www.nao.org.uk/overviews/covid-19-cost-tracker/ ↩

  12. https://csu.gov.cz/1-european_statistical_system_ess ↩

  13. The EFO is available on the Office for Budget Responsibility website ↩

  14. Public Sector Finances releases are published at 7.00am ↩

  15. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/standards-and-policies-for-hm-treasury-statistics ↩

  16. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/esa2010/ ↩

  17. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Classification_of_the_functions_of_government_(COFOG)#:~:text=The%20Classification%20of%20the%20functions,the%20purposes%20of%20government%20activities. ↩

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