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Pre-release Practice for Certain CSO Statistics

The CSO gives short advance notice of the results of fourteen statistical releases to a limited number of Government Departments and Agencies. The table that follows presents details of the pre-release practice for these releases.

The pre-release practice for business and economic statistics is publicised in the CSO Guide to Publications and Information Services (2004) (PDF 388KB) where it states: 'Some short-term indicators are provided to senior policy officials under embargo conditions one hour prior to their public release'.

In respect of National Accounts, the final results are provided to relevant Government Departments one day in advance of the official release time. This is a reduction on the period presently published in the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standards (links to IMF International Monetary Fund) website).

In the case of social and demographic statistics, where a release is the subject of a CSO press briefing at 10.30 am on the morning of release, it is now usual to provide a restricted briefing to Officials in relevant Government Departments commencing at 8.30 am. This is for the purpose of preparing Ministerial briefings and in some cases, policy press statements that may be issued independently by the Government Information Service shortly after the official release time of 11.00 am.

The situation in respect of the Headline Crime Statistics is a transitional measure reflecting the recent transfer of responsibility for the release of these statistics from the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the CSO.