Overview

• The ONS found that the Department for Transport’s vehicle excise duty data overstated the number of first-year vehicles, inflating the April CPI rate by 0.1 percentage point.
• The UK’s headline inflation rate for the 12 months to April should have been 3.4% rather than the originally reported 3.5%.
• The agency will keep the published April figures unchanged but has launched a review of its external data quality assurance.
• Properly weighted vehicle tax information will be incorporated in May’s inflation calculations to prevent further distortions.
• The correction follows a government investigation launched in April into the reliability of official economic statistics.