Overview

• Sir Ian Diamond has resigned as head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), effective immediately, due to ongoing health issues.
• Emma Rourke, deputy national statistician, has been appointed interim head while the UK Statistics Authority seeks a permanent replacement.
• The resignation comes as the ONS faces criticism over inaccuracies in its labour market survey, which has seen response rates drop from 40% pre-pandemic to 13% in 2025.
• The UK government has commissioned Sir Robert Devereux to lead a review into the ONS’s leadership, culture, and structure to address data reliability concerns.
• The ONS is advancing plans to overhaul its labour force survey methodology by 2027 in an effort to improve data accuracy for policymakers.