ONS delays release of economic data
The Office for National Statistics has seen its repetition dented further with news that vital GDP and other economic data set to be released has been delayed due to potential errors found in the data. There has been growing concern about the quality and accuracy of official data from the Office for National Statistics for some time and indeed many analysts tend to discount the first set of figures released, preferring to wait for amendments further down the line. So where does this leave the UK investment market and the UK government?
This is a major problem for the UK government because the data produced and released by the Office for National Statistics is vital to the implementation and formulation of future economic strategies. If this information is in any way tainted or unreliable then the UK government, as well as investors and analysts, could well be making very important decisions on information which is potentially flawed.
One of the main problems would appear to be the hunger from governments and investment markets to get this particular data as soon as possible. Whether the ONS and government need to address the issue of timing, and find a balance between finding enough time to produce the data, check and release it, is certainly a question which will be asked.
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