Official Statistics

Statement of voluntary compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Published 21 May 2026

1. Introduction

Each quarter, the department publishes an extensive range of performance data relating to borders, immigration and citizenship activities.

To further build confidence and trust in our reports, the Home Office has published this statement to outline the steps we have taken to voluntarily apply the Code of Practice for Statistics as we progress towards publishing these figures quarterly as official statistics.

The Code comprises 3 main concepts, or pillars:

• trustworthiness – a product of the people, systems and processes within organisations that enable and support the production of statistics and data
• quality – that statistics fit their intended uses, are based on appropriate data and methods, and are not materially misleading
• value – that statistics and data are useful, easy to access, remain relevant, and support understanding of important issues

2. Trustworthiness

This publication is produced by the Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit (PRAU), within the Home Office Analysis and Insight directorate. It is based on live operational management information (MI), compiled under the oversight of the Head of Profession for Statistics and in line with Home Office statistical policies, including monitoring for misuse.

The figures are released quarterly and are pre-announced on the Home Office statistics and research schedule.

Access to figures in their final form is restricted in line with pre-release rules, with ministers, their staff and other named stakeholders receiving access 24 hours before publication. However, as the underlying data arises from live operational systems used to actively monitor the migration system on a daily basis, it is likely that on-going trends and approximate values for metrics will be known within the Home Office.

Decisions on data sources are agreed with MI providers and relevant operational or policy leads, ensuring appropriate subject matter expertise informs the publication. The release is led by analysts, who make independent decisions on methods and outputs, supported by a focus on ongoing professional development across the team and its data suppliers.

Our quality assurance approach sets out minimum standards for analytical products and documentation, alongside clear roles and responsibilities across the organisation. This is implemented independently from MI providers.

The publication does not include commentary on longer-term trends or short-term fluctuations. However, footnotes are provided to support appropriate interpretation of the statistics. In addition, many of the topics covered by this release also feature in the quarterly Immigration system statistics, routinely published on the same day as this release. That release is presented as Accredited Official Statistics and includes commentary and background materials that reference this release in key areas of overlap.

Revisions are managed using an approach that is aligned with the Code of Practice for Statistics: if a potential error is discovered, we consider the scale, direction and nature of the change. We seek senior analytical leadership decisions on decisions, with consideration on the impact on users. Possible outcomes include publishing an unscheduled revision as soon as the error is identified with a change note on GOV.UK, or waiting until the next scheduled publication to revise presentational errors.

3. Quality

Our reporting broadly complies with the quality pillar of the Code of Practice for Statistics. We use data and apply methods that produce independently assured statistics. We work with MI providers to continuously improve both data quality and assurance processes.

While we do not currently publish detailed quality metrics, we are transparent about strengths and limitations through the use of clear caveats. We are confident that the level of quality assurance applied across both data production and publication is proportionate and robust.

The data underpinning this release is drawn from a range of sources within the Home Office and beyond, all of which are subject to a consistent and structured quality assurance approach. This includes:

• quality assurance by the data-producing teams, with confirmation from managers that data is accurate and suitable for publication
• a ‘statement of data assurance’ for each dataset, setting out definitions, extraction processes, and required quality checks; these are prepared by data providers, approved by local managers, and reviewed by PRAU, covering areas such as data definitions, data cleansing, and audit trails
• review by operational leads, who are asked to validate the data, explain any unexpected patterns, and confirm it aligns with their understanding
• central review by PRAU, which challenges data providers and operational areas where explanations for anomalies are insufficient
• the use of established processes that have been tested and refined across previous publications, except where improvements are being introduced

As these statistics are derived from live operational systems, they are subject to revision. Data quality issues, changes in processes, or revised definitions can all affect the data over time. Ongoing work by operational teams to improve data accuracy may also lead to changes in published figures.

PRAU’s quality assurance processes are designed to identify errors and ensure data providers and operational areas understand their responsibilities in assuring that data is fit for publication and supports informed decision-making.

4. Value

Migration and borders transparency data has been published since 2011 as part of the then government’s commitment to make performance data available. It enables reference to this published information to be made in answering questions from Parliament or the public.

This routine release publishes a consistent set of tables, giving users a clear expectation of regular updates of the published figures. Changes to the range of tables reflect data availability within operational systems.

Where data transfers from one system to another, the new system is adopted as the source; however, a change in source system alone would not normally justify including additional outputs in the release. Tables may be removed where there is no longer a clear user need or where underlying data is no longer available.

Additions to, or amendments of, the transparency dataset are subject to an internal assurance process to assess appropriateness and data robustness. This involves subject matter experts from relevant policy or operational teams, alongside MI providers. Proposals to introduce new tables or make significant changes to existing outputs must be reviewed and approved by the Transparency Steering Group (SG).

The SG meets quarterly and comprises PRAU Heads of Unit, Transparency Leads, and experts from Analysis and Insight. Final approval for publication rests with publication leads and the Chief Statistician.

We do not engage directly with external users of these statistics. Instead, we work with MI providers and operational business areas, drawing on their insights and the feedback they receive from their stakeholders. We use this information to shape both the content of our publications and how we improve them over time.

We also regularly assess the ongoing relevance of the statistics by analysing Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) and parliamentary questions. This helps us identify common and emerging themes, and consider where additional data releases could be developed to better meet public interest.

We present our statistics clearly and use footnotes to support appropriate interpretation. We work with producers, subject experts, and communications colleagues to reduce the risk of misinterpretation or misuse.

We are working towards ensuring our tables are produced in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, ensuring they are accessible to all users. Previous releases are archived and available via the National Archives.

We welcome user feedback on the usefulness and value of the report and requests for future improvements.

Please contact us at MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk with any questions or suggestions for improvements.