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Arrangements for pre-release access to the October 2009 National Population Projections for HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions

Issue date: 07 October 2009
Type: Statement

In accordance with the authority vested in me by Principle 5 of the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008, and with respect to statistics provided to HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions, I have granted an exception to the restriction in the Order which limits pre-release access to ministers and their officials to a maximum of 24 hours.

I have agreed an extension to the pre-release access to the 2008-based National Population Projections due to be released on 21 October 2009. The figures will be provided on 7 October 2009 or on announcement of the publication date of the Pre-Budget Report (PBR), whichever is later, and provided that the PBR publication date is on or within 2 weeks of 21 October 2009. The earlier access will enable preparation of the assessment included in the Long Term Public Finance Report, published alongside the PBR. These figures are liable to be revised during the final quality assurance process between the time access is granted and publication. In my view, the public benefit of having up-to-date population projections informing the PBR significantly outweighs the likely detriment to public trust in official statistics.

As well as placing this notification on the ONS website, I have also written to Sir Michael Scholar, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, explaining the reason for my decision.

Jil Matheson

National Statistician