The select committee will examine the performance and governance of the UK Statistics Authority as well as its two executive offices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

The Statistics Authority oversees the UK’s statistical system, operating at arm’s length from government. The ONS is the largest independent producer of the UK’s official statistics, and the OSR is the independent regulator of all official statistics produced in the UK.

Committee members will explore whether issues with the Labour Force Survey, produced by the ONS, are an anomaly or point to deeper issues with the organisation’s performance.

As part of the inquiry, members of parliament will also scrutinise other ONS programmes, including the Transformed Labour Force Survey – a new version of the LFS the ONS has been developing – the Integrated Data Service, which seeks to develop a central hub of accessible data to inform public services, and plans to overhaul the census.

The inquiry’s call for evidence states that the committee is seeking, among other things, written evidence on how well ONS data serves researchers, policy-makers, businesses and citizens. The deadline for submitting evidence is 12^th May 2025. 

Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare MP, said:   “We are all familiar with the phrase lies, damned lies and statistics. While used light-heartedly for the most part, it reminds us that we must strive to always ensure we have robust statistics that can command public confidence and enable well-informed policymaking. 

“We have a mature and respected sector, but we cannot rest on historic laurels. This inquiry will ensure the UKSA is held accountable for delivering high quality data, today and in the future.” 

The inquiry is separate from an investigation into the performance and culture of the ONS commissioned by the Statistics Authority and the Cabinet Office, announced last week.

A systemic review of ONS economic statistics, started in July and published by the OSR today, said it is "critical" that ONS "takes decisive action to restore confidence".

The regulator said that within four weeks, ONS should publish a plan to recover its social survey operation and reduce risk in its business survey operation "to restore the confidence of its users".

Sir Robert Chote, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, said: “We welcome the inquiry and look forward to participating. Along with the independent review of the ONS that the Authority Board recently commissioned, jointly with the Cabinet Office, it will help the statistics system tackle its current challenges and opportunities.”