The United Kingdom’s national statistics agency, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has acknowledged errors in its growth figures due to issues with the price data used to calculate the size of Britain’s economy. This is the latest in a series of admissions by the agency regarding its ability to maintain reliable economic data.
The ONS identified problems with two key price indices that are used to measure economic activity. These indices, which track the prices of goods and services bought and sold by manufacturers and service providers, are part of the agency’s monthly inflation report. The ONS stated that these errors were discovered during efforts to improve its producer price index (PPI) and services producer price indices (SPPI).
The ONS emphasized that its headline consumer prices index and another important inflation metric that includes housing costs are not affected by this issue. However, the agency warned that the incorrect data could impact its estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a critical economic indicator, which might necessitate revisions to GDP data for 2022 and 2023. The economy grew by 4.8% in 2022 and by 0.4% in 2023 as it emerged from the effects of the Covid pandemic but faced challenges from high inflation and rising interest rates.
The ONS stated that the changes will most likely affect the level of GDP in certain industries, potentially leading to revisions in data for the UK’s services sector, production, and construction industries. Despite this, the ONS believes that these revisions should largely offset each other and, therefore, will not significantly impact the UK’s overall growth figures at an aggregate level. The ONS is currently reviewing these problems and has temporarily stopped releasing PPI and SPPI data, with the intention of resuming publication in the summer. They have also apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Earlier this month, the ONS announced that it could not reverse its decision to release economic data before financial markets open, as this could overload its resources and cause the website to crash. Additionally, the Institute for Fiscal Studies recently criticized a significant revision to official household wealth estimates by the ONS, claiming the new methodology and resulting £2.2tn reduction were fundamentally flawed.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/21/troubled-uk-statistics-agency-warns-of-errors-in-its-growth-figures
