Compliance with Code of Practice for Statistics
Updated 27 June 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics/statement-of-compliance-with-code-of-practice-and-recent-changes-to-the-publication
Official Accredited Statistics
Air quality statistics in the UK, 1987 to 2024 – Compliance with Code of Practice for Statistics
Updated 26th June 2025
1. Accredited Official Statistics Status and recent changes to this publication
Accredited Official Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act (2007), and they have been referred to by this name for previous publications. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in July 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.
Since the last assessment of these statistics in 2019, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the improvements recommended in the July 2019 review, and have improved the accessibility of the publications.
Defra keeps all Accredited Official Statistics under review and seeks to make changes periodically to meet the needs of users. We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. You can send your feedback to AQIE.Correspondence@defra.gov.uk
2. Compliance with Defra Group Statistics Quality Statement
Defra group (that is: core Defra, Forestry Commission, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies) published a set of principles that producers of statistics should adhere to, with the aim of ensuring quality is a central consideration when producing official or Accredited Official Statistics.
There is significant overlap between the Quality Statement and the Code of Practice for Statistics. These statistics aim to comply with both sets of requirements.
User engagement has been an ongoing challenge for statistics products across Defra. Defra group has produced a User Engagement Policy Statement which outlines some of the methods recently implemented by the air quality and emissions statistics team to improve engagement with users. This policy statement is being reviewed and will soon be updated.
The Air quality statistics GOV.UK homepage will be used to make any announcements of future changes to the content or structure of the releases. The team invites feedback on the publication via email and raises awareness of the release through the @DefraStats X (formerly known as Twitter) account. You can engage with us via our mailbox AQIE.Correspondence@defra.gov.uk.
As part of our ongoing commitment to compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics we wish to strengthen our engagement with users of air quality data and better understand how the data is used and the types of decisions that they inform. We invite users to register as a “user of Air Quality data”, so that we can retain your details, inform you of any new releases of Air Quality statistics and provide you with the opportunity to take part in user engagement activities that we may run. If you would like to register as a user of Air Quality data, please provide your details in the attached form.
Internal peer review is conducted on the statistical release prior to publication and follows internally documented peer review processes: the Lead Analyst (Neil Ward) has responsibility for ensuring these processes are followed and any mistakes are addressed in line with Defra’s revisions and corrections policy.