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ONS Responds to Pandemic with New Surveys, Procedures

March 31 2020

Britain's official statistics service, the ONS, is introducing new surveys and data sources reflecting 'widespread disruption to the UK and constraints on its operations'.

The ONSThe ONS (Office for National Statistics) says its aim is 'to ensure that the country has the best possible information on the UK's society and economy and ensure the government has the information it needs to manage the UK's response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic'.

The Office will increase the frequency of some existing indicators, and supplement these with new ones; set up new surveys to provide the government and the public with vital information; and has already suspended all face-to-face interviewing in our social surveys, in favour where possible of telephone-based interviewing or online surveys. It is also working with major companies on how their data might help understanding and decision-making relating to the pandemic.

A new version of the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey with Covid-related lifestyle questions and financial impact assessment has been set up online; as has the new Business Impact of Covid-19 Survey, using a representative sample of around 17,800 businesses and run fortnightly. First results from both of these are due in early April. The roll-out of the new online Labour Market Survey piloted last year has been accelerated, sampling around 18,000 households per quarter - this went live yesterday and is designed to be nationally representative each week: and both this and the existing Labour Force Survey have added questions to assess the impact of the pandemic on people's employment and working patterns.

Among other changes, the publication of 'market-sensitive' economic statistics releases (including the UK's GDP quarterly national accounts / GDP estimates and balance of payments stats) will now take place at 7am; and additional publications to the normal schedule may be released at short notice, containing information and analysis relating to the pandemic.

The ONS will replace its current monthly 'faster economic indicators' publication with weekly faster indicators focused on aiding the response to the epidemic, including new regular outputs and one-off analyses.

In terms of fieldwork changes, the Office's business surveys are already online and paper-based only; its Labour Force Survey (LFS) interviewing is moving to telephone-based; the Wealth and Assets Survey, Survey of Income and Living Conditions, Living Costs and Food Survey will continue as telephone-based but 'may cut down to a smaller, core set of questions'; the International Passenger Survey has been suspended for fairly obvious reasons; and the options are being explored for the Crime Survey for England and Wales, including telephone and online, with a cut-down set of questions. The Office says it continues to collect pricing data 'through a number of mechanisms, including directly by visiting shops and businesses, centrally using prices published on the internet and from administrative sources'.

A new web page provides the latest data and analysis on Covid-19 (www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases ).

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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