MQ5: Investment by Insurance Companies, Pension Funds and Trusts: Quarter 2 (Apr to Jun) 2015

Investment choices of financial institutions based on financial transactions (investments and disinvestment's), including balance sheet data for short-term assets and liabilities, and income and expenditure data.

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Contact:
Email Fred Norris

Release date:
17 September 2015

Next release:
17 December 2015

1. Main points

  • Total net investment by insurance companies, pension funds and trusts is estimated at £20 billion in the second quarter (April to June) of 2015. The five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £13 billion

  • Net investment of £17 billion in ‘other assets’ (primarily mutual funds) in Q2 2015 was the largest since records began in 1987. This was driven by long-term insurance companies

  • The Q2 2015 estimate of net investment by self-administered pension funds in UK government sterling securities (£13 billion) was the largest level of net investment since records began in 1963

  • In Q2 2015, the net disinvestment of £9 billion in UK corporate securities was the eleventh consecutive quarter of net disinvestment in these assets. In contrast, businesses reported net investment in overseas securities for the ninth consecutive quarter (£6 billion)

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2. Overview

Information about the investment choices of insurance companies, self-administered pension funds, investment trusts, unit trusts and property unit trusts. This release contains quarterly net investment data arising from financial transactions (investments and disinvestments) made by these institutional groups. Also included are quarterly balance sheet data for short-term assets and liabilities, along with quarterly income and expenditure data for insurance companies and self-administered pension funds. All data are reported at current prices (effects of price changes included).

Every Quarter 3 (July to Sept) release contains annual balance sheet data for all the institutional groups; providing information on the market value of assets and liabilities. Annual income and expenditure data for insurance companies are also reported at this time.

A question often asked of the MQ5 release is "why does it only cover certain institutional groups?" The answer is that these institutions control a substantial level of assets (over £3 trillion) and engage in considerable volumes of investment activity to fund their operations. An understanding of their investments and assets is important in order to monitor the stability of the financial sector and is a main contribution to the compilation of the UK National Accounts.

We make every effort to provide informative commentary on the data in this release. As part of the quality assurance process, individual businesses are contacted in an attempt to capture reasons for extreme period-on-period data movements. It can prove difficult to elicit detailed reasons from some businesses to help inform the commentary. Frequently, reasons given for data movements refer to a "change in investment strategy" or a "fund manager’s decision". Consequently, it is not possible for all data movements to be fully explained.

We are aware that a number of users make use of these data for modelling or forecasting purposes. In doing so, careful attention should be paid to the revisions policy (113.1 Kb Pdf) for this release. Comparing the first published estimates of total net investment with the equivalent estimates published 3 years later, the average quarterly revision (without regard to sign) is £8 billion. The estimate of total net investment for Q1 2015 (last quarter) has been revised upwards by £4 billion (see background note 7 for further information).

A glossary is available to assist users with their understanding of the terms used in this release.

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3. Your views matter - future changes to MQ5

Over the next few years, changes to surveys covering the financial sector will be necessary to ensure we become compliant with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA10). ESA10 introduces changes in the measurement and classification of financial instruments and the structure of the financial sector. This will result in wide-ranging changes to the surveys used to collect the data presented in MQ5.

In order to ensure these statistics continue to meet user needs as far as possible, we carried out a consultation during March 2015 to establish how users make use of MQ5 data and their preferences for the future publication of these statistics. The consultation has now closed, however we are constantly aiming to improve this release and associated commentary and would welcome any feedback you might have. We would be particularly interested in knowing how you make use of these data to inform your work.

Please contact us via email: financial.Inquiries@ons.gov.uk or telephone Fred Norris on +44 (0)1633 456109.

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4. Net investment by asset type

The total assets of the businesses covered by this release (insurance companies, pension funds and trusts) were valued at £3,473 billion at the end of 2013, the latest period for which annual results are available. During 2013, these businesses acquired £1,666 billion and disposed of £1,638 billion longer-term financial instruments. Net investment is the difference between these substantial levels of acquisitions and disposals, as well as changes in holdings of short-term assets, and can therefore be volatile. Table 1 (at the end of this section) displays net investment data by asset type.

In Q2 (April to June) 2015 there was net investment of £20 billion (Figure 1).

Total net investment varies across the quarters of a calendar year and so an increase or decrease in investment from one quarter to the next is not necessarily an indicator of improved or worsening economic activity – these estimates are more likely to reflect varying investment strategies. In terms of context, the five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £13 billion. The highest quarterly estimate of net investment since records began (in 1987) was £43 billion in Q3 2007.

For 2014 as a whole, net investment reported by the institutions covered by this release is provisionally estimated at £43 billion, compared with £56 billion and £48 billion in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Short-term assets

Investment in short-term assets (those maturing within one year of their originating date) can be affected by the level of the net inflows of funds into the businesses concerned (premiums or contributions, for example) and by the relative attractiveness of other investments, both in terms of their potential returns and in their perceived risk.

In Q2 2015 there was net disinvestment of £2 billion in short-term assets. The five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £4 billion.

There was net disinvestment in short-term assets in each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 (see download for Figure 2). This is in contrast with all subsequent years, where a net investment has been reported. This longer-term comparison highlights how institutions, taking account of the prevailing economic climate, have chosen to restructure their investment portfolios.

UK government sterling securities (Gilts)

Gilts are fixed income or index-linked bonds issued by the UK government. On the primary gilt market, the purchaser of a gilt lends the government money in return for regular interest payments and the promise that the nominal value of the gilt will be repaid (redeemed) on a specified future date. These assets may then be bought and sold by investors in the secondary market. Gilts are very liquid assets which offer virtually risk-free returns.

The institutions covered by this release reported net investment in gilts in Q2 2015 of £8 billion (Figure 3), following net disinvestment in gilts in the previous two quarters. This may indicate a shift towards the relative security and liquidity of gilts. On 6 July 2015 the Financial Times, reflecting on recent investment trends, reported “increased appetite for gilts reflecting concerns over Greece and improving government finances”.

Net investment in gilts is provisionally estimated to be £17 billion in 2014, following net investment of £13 billion in 2013. This was preceded by net disinvestment in 2011 and 2012. Looking at this annual picture, it would seem to suggest that some market participants (particularly pension funds) have been switching back to gilts in recent years, possibly in an attempt to avoid the relative volatility of equity markets.

In recent times, the market for gilts has been notably influenced by the Bank of England’s Quantitative Easing (QE) programme. Approximately £375 billion of gilts have been bought by the Bank under QE since the start of the programme in 2009.

Investment trends in gilts can best be explained by reviewing the role they play in financial markets. Gilts are attractive investments when interest rates are high and are likely to fall. If interest rates fall the price of the gilt rises and may therefore be sold at a profit. Conversely, if interest rates are low (as they have been since early 2009) the price of gilts is high and a loss might be anticipated if the stock is held to redemption. These characteristics, coupled with the QE programme, helps to explain the longer-term profile of net investment in gilts.

Investment in gilts is discussed in more detail in the article – "Trends in gilt investment from 2007–2013".

UK corporate securities and overseas securities

These asset categories comprise ordinary shares, corporate bonds and preference shares. In addition, non-UK government securities are included as part of overseas securities.

Balance sheet estimates for the end of 2013, showed that for only the fourth time, the value of overseas ordinary shares held by these institutions exceeded the value of UK ordinary shares. This is a recent trend which was seen for the first time in 2010. It would further appear that this trend has continued into 2014 (annual balance sheet survey data are required to confirm this assertion).

This change in strategy, over the past four years, marks an important shift and would seem to indicate that the institutions covered by this release have sought higher returns relative to risk on their investments in overseas markets in preference to investing in UK securities. This shift in behaviour is supported by external analysis. In May 2014, the Telegraph commented on research undertaken by Capita, suggesting that dividend payments for British shares will fall during 2014 and observed “with these clouds on the horizon some experts argue income investors should instead shop for divi-paying shares overseas. As well as there being much greater choice – there are seven times more income paying shares overseas than are listed on London's stock exchange.”

UK corporate securities

In Q2 2015 there was net disinvestment (£9 billion) in UK corporate securities (Figure 4). This follows net disinvestment of £10 billion in Q1 2015 and continues a period of disinvestment that now extends over eleven quarters. In terms of context, the five-year quarterly average for this series is net disinvestment of £5 billion.

Overseas securities

In contrast to the trend of net disinvestment in UK corporate securities, Q2 2015 was the ninth consecutive quarter of net investment in overseas securities. This may continue to indicate that businesses have more confidence in their ability to make money from overseas securities than they do from UK corporate securities.

In Q2 2015 the institutions covered by this release reported net investment in overseas securities of £6 billion, the largest net investment in this asset type since Q3 2013 (Figure 5). The five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £6 billion. The net investment in overseas ordinary shares (£2 billion) was the first quarter of net investment in these assets since Q4 2013.

Other assets

The category ‘other assets’ covers UK and overseas investment, and includes:

  • mutual fund investments

  • investment in insurance managed funds

  • UK government securities denominated in foreign currency

  • local authority and public corporation securities

  • loans, fixed assets

  • insurance policies and annuities

  • direct investment

  • other assets not elsewhere classified.

Investment in other assets has been positive since Q3 2003. Net investment of £17 billion in Q2 2015 (Figure 6), was the largest net investment in this asset type since records began in 1987. This was driven by net investment in mutual funds by long-term insurance companies. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off period of significant investment or the commencement of a long-term trend.

In terms of context, the five-year quarterly average for other assets is net investment of £6 billion.

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5. Net investment by institutional group

Net investment data for each of the institutional groups covered by this release are displayed in Table 2 (at the end of this section).

Long-term insurance companies

These are companies which provide either protection in the form of life assurance or critical illness policies, or investment in the form of pension provision.

Long-term insurance companies showed net investment of £1 billion in the second quarter of 2015 (Figure 7). The five-year quarterly average for this series is net disinvestment of £1 billion.

In Q2 (April to June) 2015 long-term insurance companies showed net investment of £18 billion in other assets, the largest net investment in this asset type since the start of this time series in 1983, driven by net investment of £17 billion in mutual fund investments. This may indicate a change in investment strategy, as in Q2 2015 these businesses disinvested in both UK corporate securities (£10 billion) and UK government sterling securities (£6 billion).

General insurance companies

These are companies which undertake other types of insurance such as motor, home and travel. This type of insurance is usually over a shorter period, most commonly 12 months.

General insurance companies showed net investment in Q2 2015 of £1 billion (Figure 8), in line with the five-year quarterly average for this series.

Self-administered pension funds

These are funds established by pension scheme trustees to facilitate and organise the investment of employees’ retirement funds.

Self-administered pension funds reported net investment in Q2 2015 of £11 billion (Figure 9), following net investment of £13 billion in the previous quarter. The five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £6 billion.

In Q2 2015 self-administered pension funds reported net investment in UK government sterling securities (gilts) of £13 billion. This was the largest net investment in gilts by these businesses since the time series began in 1963.

Net investment in gilts by self-administered pension funds is provisionally estimated to be £19 billion in 2014, following net investment of £17 billion in 2013. These are the highest levels of net investment in gilts by these businesses since the time series began.

Investment trusts

Investment trusts acquire financial assets with money subscribed by shareholders or borrowed in the form of loan capital. Investment trusts are not trusts in the legal sense, but are limited companies with two special characteristics: their assets consist of securities (mainly ordinary shares) and they are debarred by their articles of association from distributing capital gains as dividends. Shares of investment trusts are traded on the Stock Exchange and increasingly can be bought direct from the company.

In the second quarter of 2015, investment trusts reported net investment of £1 billion. The five-year quarterly average for this series is net investment of £0.1 billion.

Unit trusts and property unit trusts

Unit trusts include open-ended investment companies (OEICs) but do not cover other unitised collective investment schemes or those based offshore. They are set up under trust deeds; the trustee usually being a bank or insurance company. The funds in the trusts are managed not by the trustees, but by independent management companies. Units representing a share in the trusts’ assets can be bought from the managers or resold to them at any time.

Property unit trusts invest predominantly in freehold or leasehold commercial property yet may hold a small proportion of their investments in the securities of property companies.

Unit trusts and property unit trusts have reported net investment in each quarter since Q4 2007 (see download for Figure 10). The level of net investment by unit trusts and property unit trusts in Q2 2015 (£11 billion), matches the five-year quarterly average for this institutional group.

The provisional full-year estimate of net investment by unit trusts and property unit trusts for 2014 (£47 billion) follows net investment of £53 billion in 2012 and £51 billion in 2013. The annual estimate for 2012 was the highest for any institutional group ever recorded, surpassing the previous high estimate of £53 billion recorded for long-term insurance companies in 1999.

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6. Income and expenditure by institutional group

Rather than provide commentary on total income and expenditure for the institutional groups, it is considered more beneficial to users, based on their feedback, if commentary concentrates on the main components. For insurance companies, premiums and claims are the focus, while contributions (net of refunds) and payments are the focus for self-administered pension funds (see Table 3, at the end of this section). It should be noted that income and expenditure data are not currently collected for the trusts institutional group.

Long-term insurance companies

In the second quarter of 2015 (April to June), the value of long-term insurance premiums was £28 billion (Figure 11), in line with the five-year quarterly average for this time series.

The value of premiums exceeded the value of claims between 2003 (when records for this series began) and 2007. However, this trend reversed and has continued in each of the years 2008 to 2013. Provisional estimates for 2014 show the value of claims to be around 35% greater than the value of premiums.

In Q2 2015, claims (£47 billion) were approximately 65% greater than the value of premiums (£28 billion). This was the largest difference between the levels of claims and premiums since the fourth quarter of 2008. It is important to note that long-term insurance business includes a significant element of pensions activity (please see background note 1). The recent trend may indicate that pension changes which became effective in April 2015 enabling individuals to access defined contribution pension savings (Taxation of Pensions Act 2014), are resulting in increased drawdown on pension funds.

General insurance companies

For general insurance, premiums (£9 billion) were around 68% greater than the value of claims (£5 billion) in Q2 2015 (Figure 12).

Self-administered pension funds

Contributions to self-administered pension funds (net of refunds) in Q2 2015 (£9 billion) were lower than the five-year quarterly average for this series of £11 billion.

In recent years there seems to be a pattern for pension funds to make one-off payments in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) of a given year, in order to reduce the deficits in their funds. This would lead to generally higher net contributions in these quarters compared with other quarters of the year (Figure 13). A possible explanation for this pattern is that companies with defined benefit schemes, while compiling their end of year accounts, are better placed to determine the level of contributions needed to fund any deficit. Deficits can be addressed in the form of employers’ special contributions. Estimates of these one-off payments were relatively high in the first quarters 2012 (£8 billion), 2013 (£8 billion). 2014 (£5 billion) and 2015 (provisionally estimated at £4 billion).

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7 .Background notes

  1. Institutional groups

    Insurance companies

    Active in both life insurance and non-life insurance, they also conduct pension business on behalf of companies and individuals.

    Long-term business (mainly life insurance and pensions) has an emphasis on the spreading of risks over time, whereas general business (mainly home, motor and travel insurance) is largely concerned with the spreading of risks between persons and organisations.

    Long-term insurance companies typically hold premium income for a long time, therefore investment income is an important component of their overall income.

    Besides consisting of life insurance, long-term business also includes workplace and individual personal pension business. Pension business includes both insured funds and insurance-managed funds. Fully insured funds belong to pension schemes where the schemes’ trustees hold, as a sole asset, an insurance policy contract or an annuity contract. All the schemes’ assets are held in one insurance company. Insurance-managed business is where investment of the pension funds for a group of employees is managed by an insurance company. This is in the form of an investment contract in which the insurance company offers participation in one or more pooled funds. Insurance-managed funds are reported both by insurance companies and self-administered pension funds, so caution should be exercised if combining estimates from the two sources.

    The figures for long-term funds include items relating to shareholders' funds in respect of pure life companies. For other companies these items are consolidated into the figures for general funds.

    Self-administered pension funds

    A self-administered pension is defined as an occupational pension scheme with units invested in one or more managed schemes or unit trusts. The trustees of these types of schemes can employ either an in-house fund manager to make the day-to-day investment decisions or they can opt to use an external manager to oversee the investment. Insurance managed funds are reported both by insurance companies and self-administered pension funds (see ‘Insurance Companies’).

    Fully insured funds are excluded but their activity is included in figures for insurance companies' long-term business.

    The data in this release relates to the self-administered pension and superannuation funds of the private sector and to the funded, self-administered schemes of local authorities and employees previously employed in the nationalised industries. The main superannuation arrangements in central government are unfunded and these are excluded from the statistics.

    Investment trusts

    The figures cover investment trusts recognised as such by HM Revenue & Customs for tax purposes and some unrecognised trusts. Investment trusts acquire financial assets with money subscribed by shareholders or borrowed in the form of loan capital. They are not trusts in the legal sense, but are limited companies with two special characteristics: their assets consist of securities (mainly ordinary shares) and they are debarred by their articles of association from distributing capital gains as dividends. Shares of investment trusts are traded on the Stock Exchange and increasingly can be bought direct from the company.

    Unit trusts

    The data covers unit trusts authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the terms of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The statistics include open-ended investment companies (OEICs) but they do not cover other unitised collective investment schemes (for example unauthorised funds run on unit trust lines by securities firms and merchant banks, designed primarily for the use of institutional investors) or those based offshore (Channel Islands, Bermuda etc.) or in other EU member states.

    Unit trusts are set up under trust deeds, the trustee usually being a bank or insurance company. The funds in the trusts are managed not by the trustees, but by independent management companies. Units representing a share in the trusts’ assets can be bought from the managers or resold to them at any time.

    Property unit trusts

    The statistics aim to cover all UK property unit trusts authorised under the terms of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Property unit trusts invest predominantly in freehold or leasehold commercial property yet may hold a small proportion of their investments in the securities of property companies. Their assets are held in the name of a trustee and are managed on a co-operative basis by a separate committee (elected by the unit holders) or company.

  2. Basic quality information

    A Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) (268.3 Kb Pdf) report can be found on our website. The QMI report aims to provide users with a greater understanding of our statistics, their quality and the methods that are used to create them.

  3. Administrative data

    The surveys that underpin this release use administrative data sources as their target populations. Further information can be found in the QMI report linked in background note 2.

  4. Uses of data

    The primary use of data from the insurance companies, pension funds and trusts surveys is in the Financial and Sector Accounts and the compilation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates within the UK National Accounts and the UK Balance of Payments. There are numerous other users within and outside government who use these data to produce various financial analyses and to inform policy decisions. Such users include:

    Bank of England: Data are used for monetary policy and financial stability monitoring.

    Department for Work & Pensions: Specifically interested in the investment activity of pension funds, and any pension business undertaken by insurance companies.

    HM Revenue and Customs: Data are used to aid taxation analysis of financial institutions.

    Association of British Insurers: Compare its own data with ONS data to ensure both datasets display similar trends.

    Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Use data to analyse investment activity across various financial instruments.

    Debt Management Office: Data are used to monitor the investment activity in British government securities (gilts).

    The Investment Association: Compare its own data with ONS data to ensure both display similar trends. They also use these data to provide an overall view of the UK savings and pensions markets and the components that make it up.

    European Union’s Statistical Office (Eurostat): Use data to compile statistics at a European level to enable comparisons between countries and to support the development of European fiscal policy.

    Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD): Analyse investment activity to help formulate economic growth and financial stability recommendations for member countries.

    Trade associations, city analysts, institutional investors and fund managers use these data for modelling or forecasting purposes and also to track asset allocation trends. Academics and journalists also use the data for research purposes.

  5. Your views matter

    We are constantly aiming to improve this release and associated commentary. We would welcome any feedback you might have, and would be particularly interested in knowing how you make use of these data to inform your work. Please contact us via email: financial.Inquiries@ons.gov.uk or telephone Fred Norris on +44 (0)1633 456109.

    There is a Business and Trade Statistics community on the StatsUserNet website. For more information, see background note 15.

  6. International comparisons

    It is difficult to meaningfully compare the ‘Investment by Insurance Companies, Pension Funds and Trusts’ release with that of other countries. This is largely due to different rules and regulations surrounding insurance and pension provision, and also because other countries do not combine data for these specific institutional groups into a single detailed publication.

    The focus for other countries is frequently on collecting data for National Accounts purposes, not on producing a separate publication for these institutional groups. Many countries around the world use different sources to collect these data. In some cases the data collection is split between the national statistical office and the central bank (Belgium) or the industry regulator (Finland). The periodicity of data collection also varies between countries; some collect data quarterly (Sweden), others on an annual basis (New Zealand). In addition, some countries use a transactions approach (UK) to data collection, while others prefer a balance sheet style (Ireland).

    International bodies such as the (OECD) compare institutional investment data across countries to help formulate economic growth and financial stability recommendations.

  7. Revisions

    Data for all quarters of 2014 remain provisional and subject to revision until the incorporation of the 2014 annual survey results in December 2015.

    Data for Q1 2015 have been revised, partly as a result of late questionnaires being received and partly as a result of disaggregate data revisions. Net investment has been revised upwards from £7.3 billion to £11.7 billion. No revisions were made to the quarters of 2014.

    Revisions to data provide one indication of the reliability of main indicators. A spreadsheet is available giving a revisions triangle (491 Kb Excel sheet) of estimates of net investment from 1996 to date and tables reflecting average revisions to estimates contained in this publication.

    A revisions policy (113.1 Kb Pdf) is available to assist users with their understanding of the cycle and frequency of data revisions. The revisions policy also explains an annual alignment process which is conducted at Quarter 3. Users of this release are strongly advised to read this policy before using these data for research or policy related purposes.

  8. Response rates

    The figures in this release are based on a system of quarterly and annual surveys collecting data on income and expenditure, transactions in financial assets and the balance sheet in separate surveys.

  9. General Information

    These points should be noted when examining reference tables:

    • total pension contributions made to funded schemes cannot be derived by summing pension premiums from Table 2.4 and contributions from Table 4.3. To do so would result in double counting since pension business premiums in Table 2.4 include any premiums (including transfers) received from self-administered pension funds and any transfers within the long-term insurance sector. More information on this and on other work undertaken to improve pension statistics as part of the 2002 pension contributions statistics review can be found on our website. These pages include a discussion note on how insurance companies have been recording pension transactions (25.5 Kb Pdf) in the surveys used as a source for this release and on improvements made to the survey questionnaires from the first quarter of 2004 to prevent mis-reporting
    • certificates of deposits issued by overseas banks are included in short-term assets overseas
    • an increase in borrowing is indicated by a positive figure, a decrease by a negative figure
    • total net investment for long-term insurance companies includes investment by self-administered pension funds in insured funds
    • loans to a parent authority by local authority funds are included with UK local authority securities
    • the consolidation adjustment is an adjustment to remove inter-sectoral flows between the different types of financial institution covered by this release. It has been produced by identifying and calculating totals for net investment in mutual funds such as authorised unit trust units, investment trust securities and insurance managed funds by the institutions
    • components in tables denominated in £ billion may not sum to totals due to rounding
  10. Definitions and symbols used

    c suppressed to avoid the disclosure of confidential data
    - nil or less than £0.5 million
    : not available

    Throughout this release Q1 refers to Quarter 1 (January to March), Q2 refers to Quarter 2 (April to June), Q3 refers to Quarter 3 (July to September) and Q4 refers to Quarter 4 (October to December).

    A glossary of the terms used in this release is available to assist users.

  11. Disclosure

    It is sometimes necessary to suppress figures for certain items in order to avoid disclosing investment activity by individual institutions. In these cases the figures are usually combined with those for another item and this will be indicated in the tables by means of a footnote.

  12. National Statistics

    The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

    Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics:

    • meet identified user needs
    • are well explained and readily accessible
    • are produced according to sound methods
    • are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

    Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics it is a statutory requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed.

  13. Social media

    Follow ONS on Twitter and receive up to date information about our statistics. Like ONS on Facebook to receive our updates in your newsfeed and to post comments on our page.

  14. Government Statistical Service (GSS) business statistics

    To find out about other official business statistics, and choose the right data for your needs, use the GSS Business Statistics Interactive User Guide. By selecting your topics of interest, the tool will pinpoint publications that should be of interest to you, and provide you with links to more detailed information and the relevant statistical releases. It also offers guidance on which statistics are appropriate for different uses.

  15. Discussing business statistics online

    There is a Business and Trade Statistics community on the StatsUserNet website. StatsUserNet is the Royal Statistical Society’s interactive site for users of official statistics. The community objectives are to promote dialogue and share information between users and producers of official business and trade statistics about the structure, content and performance of businesses within the UK. Anyone can join the discussions by registering via either of the links.

  16. Special events

    We have published commentary, analysis and policy on 'Special Events' which may affect statistical outputs. For full details visit the Special Events page on our website.

  17. Release policy

    All data in this release can be downloaded free of charge from our website. Here are the instructions to obtain a full time series of data from the statistical bulletin or release pages:

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  18. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available by visiting www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html or from the Media Relations Office email: media.relations@ons.gov.uk

    These National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

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8 . Methodology

Contact details for this Statistical bulletin

Fred Norris
Financial.Inquiries@ons.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1633 456109