Guides
Plain-English answers to common questions, each taken from the official record with a link to the source.
- Cash terms vs real terms: how to adjust a figure for inflation
How to turn a cash figure into real terms using the official GDP deflator or CPI index, with worked calculations from HM Treasury and ONS data.
- How to check a percentage claim
How to check percentage claims: percentage change vs percentage points, the base, compounding and small numbers. Worked with Bank of England and ONS data.
- How to find what an MP or peer said in Hansard
How to find and check what an MP or peer said in Parliament using Hansard: search tips, reading the record in context, corrections and citing it.
- How to check a government spending pledge
How to check a UK spending pledge: the baseline year, cash or real terms, annual or cumulative, and which budget. Worked with Spending Review 2025.
- How to check a statistic: a step-by-step method using official sources
A practical method for checking any UK statistic: find the official release, match the measure, period and status, and note the source.
- How to check a claim comparing the UK with other countries
How to check international comparisons: use one source, one year and one measure, and know market exchange rates from PPP. Worked with World Bank data.
- How to compare England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fairly
How to compare statistics across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: check coverage, producers, definitions and population size.
- How to find official statistics for your local area
Where to find official statistics for your town, council or constituency: ONS Explore local statistics, Nomis profiles and topic sources, with a worked example.
- How to read a chart critically
How to read a statistical chart carefully: what is plotted, units, axes, time range, source and date, with worked examples from official ONS charts.
- How to read an ONS statistical bulletin
A section-by-section walkthrough of an ONS statistical bulletin: release dates, main points, revisions notes, data quality, downloads and series IDs.
- Why official figures change: how to understand revisions
Why official statistics like GDP and population are revised, how big revisions are, and how to find the latest and earlier estimates. With 2026 examples.
- How to use Freedom of Information requests to check a claim
How to use Freedom of Information to check facts: search what is already published, word a precise request, deadlines, cost limits and reviews.
- How to check a claim that taxes are going up
How to check UK claims about rising taxes: tax rates, cash receipts and the tax burden as a share of GDP, using OBR, HMRC and Budget documents.
- How to check a claim about the UK national debt
Check UK national debt claims: debt versus borrowing, cash versus share of GDP, which measure is used, and how to read the ONS public sector finances.
- How to check a claim about council tax or council spending
Check claims about council tax rises and council spending in England using official MHCLG statistics, with Band D, per-dwelling and real-terms examples.
- How to check a claim that crime is going up or down
How to check crime trend claims in England and Wales using the Crime Survey and police recorded crime, with a worked example from the ONS July 2026 bulletin.
- How to check a claim about immigration numbers
How to check UK immigration claims: net migration from the ONS, visas and asylum from the Home Office, and why the two give different numbers.
- How to check a claim about NHS waiting lists and waiting times
A method for checking NHS waiting list claims: pathways versus patients, the 18-week standard, breaks in the series, and comparisons across the UK.
- How to find historical UK statistics, from ONS time series to the Bank of England's millennium dataset
Where to find long-run UK figures: ONS time series, the Bank of England's millennium of macroeconomic data, OBR fiscal history and historic census data.
- How to find out how your MP voted, step by step
Find any Commons or Lords vote on the official Parliament votes website, read the division list, and understand what 'no vote recorded' can and cannot mean.
- How to look up what a house sold for using HM Land Registry data
Step-by-step: search HM Land Registry price paid data for sold prices in England and Wales, read each field, and check local house price claims.
- How to read the Budget documents: the Red Book and the OBR forecast
A guide to the Budget papers: what the Treasury Red Book, policy costings and the OBR Economic and fiscal outlook contain, and how to check Budget claims.
- How to use Nomis to find local jobs, pay and benefits data
A step-by-step guide to Nomis, the ONS service for local jobs, unemployment, pay and claimant data, with a worked example for Manchester.
- How to use the Office for Statistics Regulation's work to judge a statistic
How to use the Office for Statistics Regulation to judge a UK statistic: accreditation status, suspensions, letters, the casework log and how to raise a concern.
- How to use police.uk crime maps, and what they can and cannot show
How to look up street-level crime on police.uk and data.police.uk, why locations are approximate, and when to use ONS crime figures instead.
- How to use the statistics release calendars to find when figures come out
How to find when UK official statistics will be published using the GOV.UK and ONS release calendars, what 'provisional' and 'confirmed' mean, and how to set alerts.