Trust in ONS data 'very low' as financial services turn to alternative sources

Follows latest inflation blunder

Several members of the financial services industry no longer feel they can solely rely on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as the agency faces mounting criticism over its recent provision of inaccurate information.

In its most recent inflation report for May, the ONS said it had revised its figures for the month prior, admitting that an error in the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) data it received meant that the overall rate should have been lower. This comes after earlier in March, the ONS halted the publication of its producer prices indices (PPI) – an indicator of CPI – due to "a problem with the chain-linking methods used to calculate these indices". ONS urged to improve quality of survey data amid 'widespread concern' Other issues have plagued Britain's official statistics body, including...