UK Stats Agency Studies Mandatory Surveys as Possible Data Fix

Article content(Bloomberg) — Britain’s Office for National Statistics is preparing for a potential change in the law that would force households to respond to key economic surveys, as it tries to rebuild its credibility after a collapse in data quality.Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle contentJames Benford, the new director general for economic statistics, said the ONS is “researching what others are doing” on household surveys in places such as Canada and the Netherlands, where responses to critical economic surveys are mandatory.Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle contentThe ONS wants to be “well placed to inform” the government if it raises the issue of mandation, he told a National Institute of Economic and Social Research conference earlier this week.Article contentTop StoriesGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.There was an error, please provide a valid email address.Sign UpBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Article contentBenford has been brought in as part of an overhaul of the ONS, which has come under heavy criticism over the last two years for problems with a number of crucial economic datasets, in particular the Labour Force Survey used by the Bank of England for interest rate decisions.Article contentThe LFS lost its quality kitemark after survey response rates plummeted during the pandemic, a situation that was made worse by subsequent funding cuts. Other countries saw similar deteriorations but not as severely as the UK. The ONS has also suffered problems with producer prices, house price indices, retail sales and public finances.Article contentBenford told the conference this week that ONS resources had been spread too thinly over the pandemic and the organization is now focused on “quality over quantity,” which will mean some datasets are deprioritized or axed entirely. Health data will move to the Health Security Agency and the Integrated Data Platform designed as a service for government analysts has been closed.Article contentArticle contentHousehold response rates to the LFS crashed to just 13% in 2023 from 47.9% a decade earlier. Overall response levels have only just recovered to what was seen before the pandemic. Field agents collecting the data have increased by 16% and the financial inducement for respondents has been doubled to £20, making the whole process “much more expensive,” Benford said. Article contentOne reason it has become harder to collect responses is because video security systems deter people from answering the door. The ONS is building a new “transformed” LFS that it hopes will fix the problems, due to come into effect by the end of next year. Article contentBenford said that requiring people to respond to surveys by law was “an important question, ultimately a political question because it’s a change in the relationship between the citizens and the state.” Households are already required by law to complete the once-a-decade census and businesses are also legally obliged to complete ONS surveys. Article contentBenford said the ONS is “trying to make” the current system work without resorting to mandation. “But we are researching what others are doing so if that question comes up we’re well placed to inform it.” There has been no political request so far, he said.Article contentBenford added that the ONS is “the first national statistical institute in the world to have GenAI in production” and that it would be making greater use of artificial intelligence to save man hours and cut costs. Article contentAI is helping categorize people by occupation and industry from what are often “quite vague descriptions,” he told the conference. “It’s taking hundreds of hours off, that’s just one case. We will scale that to thousands, I’m sure.”Article contentTrending Tax Court overturns CRA decision to deny bitcoin loss writeoff Taxes When sinking property values raise red flags for borrowers Mortgages Mortgage rates move — but in the wrong direction Mortgage Rates Philip Cross: The sad story of Justin Trudeau’s 'youthful idiots' FP Comment Amid a wave of mortgage renewals, borrowers will have leverage in 2026 Mortgages Share this article in your social networkCommentsYou must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.Create an AccountSign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Tax Court overturns CRA decision to deny bitcoin loss writeoff Taxes When sinking property values raise red flags for borrowers Mortgages Mortgage rates move — but in the wrong direction Mortgage Rates Philip Cross: The sad story of Justin Trudeau’s 'youthful idiots' FP Comment Amid a wave of mortgage renewals, borrowers will have leverage in 2026 Mortgages