Mismanagement and Cultural Issues at the ONS

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been facing significant mismanagement, highlighted by a culture of fear among junior staff. Employees felt pressured to present favorable data instead of addressing the troubling decline in response rates for labor statistics. As a result, the credibility of unemployment figures has been compromised, raising concerns for economic policymaking, particularly for the Bank of England. This toxic environment suggests deep-seated cultural issues that have persisted for nearly a decade, preventing necessary improvements from being implemented.