Public sector classification guide and forward work plan

The Public Sector Classification Guide (xls, 2.6MB) lists current and former public sector bodies that Office for National Statistics has classified. For any enquiries, please contact:

David Beckett
econstats.classifications@ons.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1633 456980

Forward Work Plan

The forward work plan (xls, 67.6KB) sets out the organisations and transactions which we expect to assess and classify in the coming 12 months. There is high demand for classification assessments and at any one time we progress a number of active cases, with new cases often arising. As such, this forward work plan does not cover all cases that will arise over the coming year; furthermore, minor cases (with smaller statistical and policy impacts) will be assessed as resources allow. The cases scheduled have been prioritised due to:

• the impact they will have on important statistics

• their importance to public policy

After EU withdrawal

After the transition period ends on 31 December 2020, the UK statistical system will continue to collect and produce our wide range of economic and social statistics about the UK.

We are committed to continued alignment with international standards, enabling comparability both over time and internationally, and we will work with users of statistics to make sure they have the data they need to support the decisions they have to make.

This means that our public sector finances statistics and our classifications process will continue to draw on the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010 and the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt (MGDD 2019) and associated guides following the end of the transition period.

As the shape of the UK's future statistical relationship with the EU becomes clearer over the coming period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is making preparations to assume responsibilities that as part of our membership of the EU, and during the transition period, were delegated to the statistical office of the EU, Eurostat. This includes responsibilities relating to international comparability of economic statistics, deciding what international statistical guidance to apply in the UK context and providing further scrutiny of our statistics and classification decisions.

In applying international statistical standards and best practice to UK economic statistics, we will draw on the technical advice of experts in the UK and internationally, and our work will be underpinned by the UK's well-established and robust framework for independent official statistics, as set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Further information on our proposals will be made available in early 2021.

Impacts on fiscal aggregates

Approximate potential impacts on fiscal aggregates are given in the forward work plan.

The fiscal aggregates are:

• public sector net borrowing and public sector net debt for the UK

• general government consolidated gross debt and general government net borrowing for European measures

The impact described would occur only if an organisation’s classification status changes from public to private sector (or the other way around), or if a new organisation is classified to the public sector. Transactional classifications can also impact the fiscal aggregates.

For indicative impacts on fiscal aggregates the following definitions are used:

• small – less than £100 million change

• medium – between £100 million and £1 billion change

• large – more than £1 billion change

For any enquiries, please contact:

David Beckett
econstats.classifications@ons.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1633 456980