Index of Services future improvements

Relaunch of the IoS Industry Review Process

The articles below re-launches the industry review process for the Index of Services (IoS) as part of the further development of the National Accounts.

The article Index of Services - Industry Reviews August 2012 (446.3 Kb Pdf) provides greater detail on how the process will proceed, including the industries chosen for review and the status of experimental industries within IoS.

The earlier article Index of Services - Industry Reviews March 2012 signalled the intention to re-launch the process and consult with users on how it should proceed.

A commitment was made at the launch of the experimental Index of Services (IoS) in December 2000 to improve both the range and quality of the indicators used to measure the IoS and the services sector of GDP(O).

• Industry reviews
• Industry review reports

Industry reviews

In order to take forward the development of this work, an industry review programme has been set up to tackle these issues.

The approach adopted has been to evaluate and improve where appropriate, the methodology on an industry-by-industry basis. Reports of the reviews, which describe in full the approach taken in reviewing the methodology and the reasons for any recommended changes, have been published here at the time the review recommendations are implemented.

While the IoS is now a National Statistic, development will continue as part of the wider national accounts re-engineering. As noted when the experimental label was dropped in 2007, as part of the re-engineering of the National Accounts a short-term output estimates of GDP will be brought together into one integrated system. As well as producing the regular outputs, the system will also be a key provider of output and deflators for central systems in the National Accounts. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will continue developing service sector data sources and methods as part of the wider methods  developments for re-engineering.

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Industry review reports

Full reports of the industry reviews are made available at the time the revised data are released. Each report contains the following:

• examination of current methodology

• evaluation of ideal methodology (from Eurostat guidance)

• consultation within the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and with external experts

• review of possible options

• new methodology

The reports for the reviews carried out to date can be found in the industries reviewed table below.

If you have any queries concerning the review programme please contact us by email at:

ios.enquiries@ons.gsi.gov.uk

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