A study funded by the Department of Health shows that raising the age at which teenagers can buy cigarettes from 16 to 18 had a dramatic effect on smoking prevalence in the under-18s.

When does management information become official statistics?

Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has been forced to eat his words over the 2011 Census. In opposition he castigated it as a waste of money.
 

How many people are employed in the public sector?

Pensioners are a favourite group at election-time, some might say for cynical reasons.

Immigration has emerged as one of the major themes of the election, and one of the few where there are clear dividing lines between the parties.

Now that a General Election has been called, can we expect the Office for National Statistics to bombard  us with useful summaries to help us make up our minds? Alas, no.

 Worries that the 2011 Census will miss its targets are spelled out in an new assessment report

What would it take to narrow the gap in life expectancy between Scotland and England? A revolution in Scottish eating habits, most experts might say.

“Services growth in December pushes up GDP estimate” was the headline on ONS’s press release announcing last week’s revised estimate of GDP in the final quarter of 2009.