ONS delays release of retail sales data over quality concerns

The release of key statistics used to weigh up the performance of the UK’s economy has been delayed for two weeks over concerns about the quality of the data.

The Office for National Statistic (ONS) said the publication of its latest monthly retail sales figures was rescheduled to allow for “further quality assurance”.

It marks another setback for the UK’s official statistics body and raises questions over the reliability of its data, which is used in deciding government policy affecting millions of people, and by the Bank of England to set interest rates.

The ONS apologised “for any inconvenience caused”.

Monthly retail sales figures are closely watched as a measure of consumer spending. Increases generally mean people are spending more money, which boosts business and can lead to the economy growing.

The government has made growing the UK economy its main priority in an effort to improve living standards.

The ONS said its data, originally slated for release on Friday, will now be released a fortnight later on Friday 5 September.

The organisation has faced criticism in recent months, with concerns over its reputation and reliability for some of its data, particularly its jobs market figures.

Such data releases are closely watched by the Bank of England when weighing up whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates, which impact people’s ability to borrow money or obtain better savings rates.

ONS figures on inflation, which gives an indication of the cost of living, and GDP, a measure of the economy, are used to underpin many tax and public spending decisions made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

In June, the ONS said the UK’s inflation rate for April was too high after it discovered it had been given incorrect road tax data by the Department for Transport.

Robert Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said all ONS data “must be suspect now”.

He said while the ONS had “done the right thing” to halt publication to double check the data rather than “sweeping the problem under the carpet”, the “mistakes are piling up”.

“There seems to be a serious problem at the ONS. Every odd datapoint now will raise the question, is this real or an ONS error?” Mr Wood said in a post on social media.

“This stuff really matters. The ONS need to get on top of this yesterday.”

In June, a critical government review said “deep seated” issues needed to be addressed at the ONS for the agency to “rebuild its reputation”.

The review said most of problems with data resulted from “inadequacies” in the way the agency plans and makes decisions. The ONS welcomed the report at the time and acknowledged the issues highlighted.

Last month Sir Robert Chote resigned as chair of the UK Statistics Authority, the body responsible for overseeing the ONS, saying new leadership was critical to restore confidence in the statistics produced by the body.

In a social media post former member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee, Andrew Sentance said the latest delay was a “total and utter shambles”.