Official sources
We only repeat what these sources publish: 157 courts, parliaments, public inquiries, regulators, ombudsmen, government bodies, official statisticians and international bodies such as the IMF and OECD. News reports, blogs, social media and AI-generated text are never used as sources.
Official sources for other countries: World.
Companies and public registers
- Charity Commission for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
Register of NI charities, accounts and statutory inquiry reports.
- Charity Commission register (England and Wales) England and Wales
Every registered charity's trustees, income and spending, accounts, annual returns and regulatory action.
- Companies House UK
Every UK company's filings: accounts, confirmation statements, officers, persons with significant control, charges, disqualified directors, and the Register of Overseas Entities.
- Electoral Commission political finance and results UK
Donations and loans to parties and candidates, party accounts, campaign spending returns, the register of political parties and official election results.
- FCA Financial Services Register UK
Every firm and individual authorised by the FCA and PRA, their permissions, disciplinary history and warnings about unauthorised firms.
- Insolvency Service England and Wales
Individual Insolvency Register (bankruptcies, IVAs, debt relief orders), director disqualifications and company insolvency statistics.
- OSCR (Scottish Charity Regulator) Scotland
Scottish Charity Register, charity accounts and regulatory inquiry reports.
- Register of Consultant Lobbyists UK
Lobbying firms that lobby ministers and permanent secretaries on behalf of clients, with quarterly client lists.
- Registers of Scotland Scotland
Land Register of Scotland title sheets, house price statistics and the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land.
Courts and tribunals
- BAILII UK and Ireland
Free archive of UK and Irish judgments, including older decisions not yet in Find Case Law.
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary England and Wales
Selected judgments, sentencing remarks in high-profile cases, coroners' Prevention of Future Deaths reports and judicial guidance.
- Crown Prosecution Service England and Wales
Charging decisions, conviction announcements, prosecution policies and CPS data summaries.
- Find Case Law (The National Archives) England and Wales and UK
The official public record of judgments from the Supreme Court, Privy Council, Court of Appeal, High Court and upper tribunals.
- Judicial Committee of the Privy Council UK and overseas
Final appeal judgments for UK overseas territories, Crown dependencies and some Commonwealth countries.
- Judiciary NI Northern Ireland
Judgments of the Court of Appeal, High Court and Crown Court in Northern Ireland, and sentencing remarks.
- Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Scotland
Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary opinions, sheriff court judgments and sentencing statements.
- Scottish Legal Aid Board Scotland
Legal aid spending, case numbers and annual reports for Scotland.
- Scottish Sentencing Council Scotland
Sentencing guidelines approved by the High Court of Justiciary and research on sentencing in Scotland.
- Sentencing Council for England and Wales England and Wales
Definitive sentencing guidelines that courts must follow, and research on sentencing practice.
- The National Archives: Find Case Law developer documents England and Wales
Technical documentation for the Find Case Law service and its API.
- Tribunal decisions (GOV.UK) UK
Employment Tribunal decisions, Upper Tribunal decisions (Immigration and Asylum, Administrative Appeals, Tax and Chancery, Lands), and other tribunal rulings.
- UK Supreme Court UK
Judgments, press summaries, case details and hearing recordings of the UK's final court of appeal.
International organisations
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) International
World Economic Outlook forecasts and data, country reports including the UK Article IV review, government finance and debt statistics for member countries.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) International
Defence expenditure of NATO countries, including each member's spending as a share of GDP.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) International
Comparable statistics across member countries: economy, tax, health, education (PISA), wages, productivity, inequality and public spending.
- World Bank International
World Development Indicators and other country datasets: GDP, population, poverty, health, education, aid and debt.
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) International
The Global Innovation Index and international statistics on patents, trademarks and designs.
Legislation and government
- Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) UK
Advice letters on jobs taken by former ministers and senior civil servants after leaving office.
- Care Information Scotland Scotland
NHS 24's information service on care and support in Scotland, including charges and entitlements.
- Commissioner for Public Appointments England and Wales
Regulation of ministerial appointments to public bodies, compliance reports and investigations.
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
Election results, the electoral register and voter registration in Northern Ireland.
- Find a Tender and Contracts Finder UK
Public sector contract opportunities and awards, with suppliers, values and dates.
- GOV.UK UK
Publications, policy papers, guidance, press releases, transparency data and statistics from all UK government departments and many agencies.
- legislation.gov.uk UK
The official text of all UK Acts and statutory instruments, including Scottish, Welsh and NI legislation, in original and revised versions.
- List of Ministers' Interests and Independent Adviser UK
Ministers' declared financial interests and the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Standards' reports on alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code.
- Local authority transparency data England
Council spending over £500, contracts, senior salaries, council minutes and decisions, published under the Local Government Transparency Code.
- Local Government Boundary Commission for England England
Electoral reviews and the ward boundaries and councillor numbers for every council in England.
- Ministerial and departmental transparency returns UK
Ministers' gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings with outside organisations; senior officials' salaries and spending over £25,000.
- mygov.scot Scotland
The Scottish Government's public information site on services, rights and entitlements in Scotland.
- NHS website England
Public health and NHS service information for England, published by NHS England.
- Northern Ireland Executive and departments Northern Ireland
Publications, statistics and press releases from the Executive Office and the nine NI departments.
- Police.uk England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Street-level crime and outcomes for every police force area, neighbourhood policing teams and stop and search records.
- Privy Council Office UK
Orders in Council, Royal Charters and records of Privy Council meetings.
- Revenue Scotland Scotland
Statistics and guidance on Scotland's devolved taxes: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Scottish Landfill Tax and the Scottish Aggregates Tax.
- Scottish Government Scotland
Policy, publications, FOI releases, ministerial statements and transparency data for devolved Scottish matters.
- Student Finance Wales Wales
Student loan and grant rules and amounts for students from Wales, run by the Student Loans Company for the Welsh Government.
- The Gazette (London, Edinburgh and Belfast) UK
The UK's official public record: insolvencies, company winding-up petitions, deceased estates, honours, state notices and planning notices.
- The National Archives and UK Government Web Archive UK
Historic government records (Discovery catalogue) and archived snapshots of government websites since 1996.
- Transport for Wales Wales
Rail performance, passenger numbers and reports for the Wales and Borders rail service, owned by the Welsh Government.
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) UK
Research funding decisions, grants data and annual reports for the UK's research councils and Innovate UK.
- Welsh Government Wales
Policy, publications, statements and transparency data for devolved Welsh matters.
- West Midlands Combined Authority England
Budgets, decisions and economic reports of the West Midlands Combined Authority and its elected mayor.
Official statistics
- Bank of England Statistical Interactive Database UK
Bank Rate history, money and credit, mortgage approvals, interest rates, exchange rates and banking sector data.
- Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) Northern Ireland
Exams, qualifications and results for Northern Ireland's GCSEs and A levels.
- data.gov.uk UK
The catalogue of open data published by central government, local authorities and public bodies. It links to the publisher's own files.
- data.police.uk England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Street-level crime, outcomes and stop and search records by police force and neighbourhood.
- Department for Transport statistics Great Britain
Road casualties, traffic counts, vehicle licensing, rail and bus usage, transport spending.
- DESNZ energy and emissions statistics UK
Energy prices, generation by fuel, UK greenhouse gas emissions, fuel poverty and household energy efficiency.
- DWP Stat-Xplore Great Britain
Benefit statistics: Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, State Pension, housing benefit and benefit cap counts.
- Explore education statistics (DfE) England
School pupil numbers, attainment, exclusions, absence, teacher workforce, higher and further education, children's social care.
- HESA (Jisc) higher education statistics UK
Students, staff, graduate outcomes and university finances. HESA is the designated data body for higher education in England.
- HM Land Registry open data England and Wales
Price Paid Data on every residential sale, the UK House Price Index and corporate and overseas ownership datasets.
- HMRC statistics UK
Tax receipts, income distribution, Child Benefit and tax credits, National Insurance, VAT and corporation tax statistics.
- Home Office immigration and police statistics UK
Small boat arrivals, asylum claims and decisions, visas, returns, detention; police workforce, recorded crime by force, stop and search.
- Met Office climate statistics UK
Official UK temperature, rainfall and sunshine records, monthly climate summaries and the HadUK-Grid dataset.
- MHCLG housing and local government statistics England
House building, homelessness, temporary accommodation, social housing, council tax and local authority finance.
- Ministry of Justice statistics England and Wales
Criminal court cases and sentencing, prison population, reoffending, court timeliness, legal aid and family court statistics.
- National Records of Scotland (NRS) Scotland
Scotland's population estimates, births, deaths, marriages, life expectancy, drug and alcohol deaths, and Scotland's Census.
- NHS Education for Scotland: workforce statistics Scotland
NHS Scotland staff numbers, vacancies and turnover by staff group and health board.
- NHS England statistics England
Waiting times (referral to treatment, A&E, cancer, ambulance), bed occupancy, workforce, GP appointments and prescribing.
- Nomis (ONS labour market statistics) UK
Labour market, benefit claimant counts, Census 2021 and 2011 tables and business counts down to small local areas.
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) Northern Ireland
NI population, deaths, census, labour market, NI Multiple Deprivation Measure and departmental statistics.
- Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) UK
Official economic and fiscal forecasts, Fiscal risks and sustainability report, policy costings and the public finances databank.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips England
Public health profiles for every local area in England: life expectancy, causes of death, obesity, smoking and other health indicators.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) UK
The UK's national statistics: inflation (CPI, CPIH, RPI), GDP, employment and unemployment, wages, population, migration, deaths, crime survey, public sector finances, trade, census for England and Wales.
- Police Service of Northern Ireland statistics Northern Ireland
Police recorded crime, security situation statistics and other official statistics for Northern Ireland.
- Public Health Scotland Scotland
NHS Scotland waiting times, A&E, delayed discharge, drug deaths analysis, cancer and hospital activity.
- Public Health Wales Wales
Public health surveillance and official statistics for Wales, including screening, vaccination and infection data.
- ScotPHO (Scottish Public Health Observatory) Scotland
Public health profiles and indicators for Scotland, led by Public Health Scotland.
- Scottish Government statistics Scotland
Scottish economy, labour market, poverty, education, justice, housing and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation Scotland
The Scottish Government's official measure of relative deprivation for every small area in Scotland.
- Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Scotland
Exam entries and results for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications in Scotland.
- Skills for Care: workforce intelligence England
Official statistics on the adult social care workforce in England: filled posts, vacancies, pay and turnover.
- StatsWales and Welsh Government statistics Wales
Welsh NHS performance, education, housing, population, local government finance and the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.
- UK Statistics Authority and Office for Statistics Regulation UK
Accreditation status of official statistics, assessments, and public letters correcting misuse of statistics by ministers and departments.
- UKHSA data dashboard England
Infectious disease data: COVID-19, flu, RSV, measles and other notifiable diseases, vaccination uptake.
- uktradeinfo (HMRC overseas trade statistics) UK
Official UK imports and exports of goods by commodity, country and port.
Ombudsmen
- Financial Ombudsman Service UK
Searchable final decisions on complaints against banks, insurers and other financial firms, and complaints data by firm.
- Housing Ombudsman England
Determinations and special investigations into social landlords, and landlord performance data.
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman England
Searchable decisions on complaints about councils and adult social care providers.
- Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman Northern Ireland
Investigation reports on NI public services and local government ethical standards decisions.
- Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman UK and England
Investigation reports into UK government departments and the NHS in England, including reports laid before Parliament.
- Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Wales
Investigation reports and code of conduct decisions about Welsh public bodies and councillors.
- Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Scotland
Decisions and reports on complaints about Scottish councils, NHS, housing, universities and government.
Parliament
- Commons Votes and Lords Votes UK
How every MP and peer voted in every division, with tellers and totals.
- Hansard (UK Parliament Official Report) UK
The substantially verbatim record of everything said in the House of Commons, House of Lords and Westminster Hall.
- House of Commons Library, Lords Library and POST UK
Impartial research briefings, constituency data dashboards and science briefings (POSTnotes) written for MPs and peers.
- IPSA (MPs' business costs) UK
Every MP's expenses claims, office costs, staffing and travel, and IPSA's compliance investigations.
- Members of Parliament and Lords UK
Who holds which seat, party, posts held, constituency history and contact details.
- Northern Ireland Assembly Official Report Northern Ireland
Hansard of plenary and committee sittings, Assembly questions and answers, members and register of interests.
- Parliament Bills UK
Every bill before Parliament with its text at each stage, amendments, explanatory notes and progress.
- Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards UK
Investigations into MPs' conduct, rectifications, and reports to the Committee on Standards.
- Parliamentary committees UK
Select committee reports, oral evidence transcripts, written evidence and government responses.
- Registers of members' interests (Commons and Lords) UK
MPs' and peers' outside earnings, donations, gifts, hospitality, shareholdings and property; also registers for MPs' staff, journalists and all-party groups.
- Scottish Parliament Official Report Scotland
The record of chamber and committee debates, written questions and answers, votes, bills and MSPs' register of interests.
- Senedd Cymru Record of Proceedings Wales
The bilingual record of Senedd plenary and committee meetings, written questions, votes, legislation and Members' register of interests.
- Written questions, answers and statements UK
Every written parliamentary question with the government's answer, and written ministerial statements.
Public inquiries
- Grenfell Tower Inquiry UK
Phase 1 (2019) and Phase 2 (September 2024) reports, transcripts and evidence, now archived by The National Archives.
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) England and Wales
Final report (October 2022), investigation reports and evidence, now archived by The National Archives.
- Infected Blood Inquiry UK
Final report (May 2024), transcripts and evidence on infected blood and blood products.
- Lampard Inquiry England
Inquiry into mental health inpatient deaths in Essex; hearing transcripts and evidence.
- Omagh Bombing Inquiry UK and Northern Ireland
Hearings and evidence on whether the 1998 Omagh bombing could have been prevented.
- Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry UK
Reports, hearing transcripts and evidence on the Horizon scandal and wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters.
- Public inquiry recommendations tracker (GOV.UK) UK
Government responses to public inquiry recommendations, with progress on implementing them.
- Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry Scotland
Case study findings, transcripts and evidence on abuse of children in care in Scotland.
- Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry Scotland
Hearings and evidence on Scotland's pandemic response.
- Thirlwall Inquiry UK
Evidence and report on events at the Countess of Chester Hospital following the Lucy Letby convictions.
- UK Covid-19 Inquiry UK
Module reports, hearing transcripts, witness statements and evidence on the UK's pandemic response.
Regulators and auditors
- Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) UK
Rulings on whether adverts broke the advertising codes.
- Audit Scotland Scotland
Audits of the Scottish Government, NHS boards, councils and public bodies for the Auditor General and Accounts Commission.
- Audit Wales Wales
Audits of Welsh Government, NHS Wales and local bodies by the Auditor General for Wales.
- Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority UK
Monetary Policy Committee minutes and votes, Financial Stability Reports, PRA enforcement notices and bank capital rules.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) England
Inspection ratings and reports for every hospital, GP practice, care home and home care service, and enforcement action.
- Civil Aviation Authority UK
Airline and airport statistics, punctuality, ATOL holder register and aviation safety enforcement.
- Climate Change Committee UK
Statutory progress reports to Parliament on UK emissions targets, carbon budget advice and adaptation reports.
- Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) UK
Merger decisions, competition and consumer law enforcement, market studies and fines.
- Consumer Council for Water England and Wales
Complaints about water companies, customer research and reports on water company performance for customers.
- Electoral Commission UK
Investigations and sanctions against parties and campaigners, election reports and electoral registration data.
- Environment Agency England
Sewage storm overflow returns (Event Duration Monitoring), water quality, pollution incidents, enforcement and public registers.
- Equality and Human Rights Commission Great Britain
Investigations, unlawful act notices, legal interventions and statutory codes of practice.
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) UK
Final notices, fines, bans, warnings about scam firms, market studies and financial services data.
- Financial Reporting Council (FRC) UK
Sanctions against auditors and accountants, audit quality inspections and the UK Corporate Governance Code.
- Food Standards Agency England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Food hygiene ratings for every food business, product recalls and allergy alerts.
- Gambling Commission Great Britain
Licensing, enforcement action and fines against operators, and gambling industry statistics.
- General Medical Council and MPTS UK
The medical register with each doctor's conditions or suspensions, and Medical Practitioners Tribunal decisions.
- Health and Safety Executive Great Britain
Enforcement notices and prosecution records, workplace fatality and injury statistics.
- HM Inspectorates (Constabulary, Prisons, Probation) England and Wales
Inspection reports on police forces, prisons, young offender institutions and probation services.
- Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) England and Wales
Investigation outcomes into police conduct, deaths following police contact and complaints statistics.
- Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) UK
Data protection fines and reprimands, FOI decision notices and enforcement action.
- National Audit Office (NAO) UK
Independent audits of government spending, value-for-money reports and departmental accounts audits.
- Northern Ireland Audit Office Northern Ireland
Audits and value-for-money reports on NI departments and public bodies.
- Northern Ireland Fiscal Council Northern Ireland
Independent assessments of the Northern Ireland Executive's budget and public finances.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) UK
The register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates, with twice-yearly data reports on joiners and leavers.
- Ofcom UK
Broadcasting Standards rulings (the Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin), Online Safety Act enforcement, telecoms and postal regulation, media market data.
- Office for Students England
Registration and regulation of universities, fines, free speech and financial sustainability reports, and the register of providers.
- Office of Rail and Road Great Britain
Official rail statistics (passenger journeys, punctuality, fares) and regulation of Network Rail and National Highways.
- Ofgem Great Britain
Energy price cap levels, supplier enforcement and penalties, network regulation and market data.
- Ofqual England
Regulation of exams and qualifications, grade outcomes and enforcement against awarding bodies.
- Ofsted England
Inspection reports and outcomes for schools, colleges, nurseries, children's homes and local authority children's services.
- Ofwat England and Wales
Water company performance, price controls, enforcement and penalties.
- Qualifications Wales Wales
Regulation of qualifications in Wales and official statistics on GCSE, A level and other results.
- Scottish Fiscal Commission Scotland
Independent statutory forecasts of Scotland's economy, devolved tax revenue and social security spending for the Scottish Budget.
- Scottish Information Commissioner Scotland
Decisions on freedom of information appeals in Scotland and statistics on requests to Scottish public authorities.
- SEPA, Natural Resources Wales and NIEA Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Environmental regulation, pollution enforcement and monitoring data for the devolved nations.
- Serious Fraud Office England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Investigations, charges, deferred prosecution agreements and convictions in serious fraud, bribery and corruption cases.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority and Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal England and Wales
Solicitors register, regulatory decisions and tribunal judgments striking off or fining solicitors.
- The Pensions Regulator UK
Enforcement against employers and pension schemes, auto-enrolment data and scheme regulation.
List updated 2026-10-13. Only official records that a fair and accurate report could rely on for privilege (Defamation Act 1996, Schedule 1) are listed. News, blogs, social media and AI output are excluded. A media lawyer should confirm the list before launch.
Questions
What counts as an official source?
A record published by a body with a public duty to produce it: official statisticians, Parliament, courts and tribunals, public inquiries, regulators, auditors, ombudsmen, government departments and statutory registers such as Companies House, plus international bodies such as the IMF, OECD, World Bank and NATO. The full list is on this page.
Why doesn't Factcheck Ledger use newspapers?
News reports are secondary accounts. The site goes to the record they report on, such as the statistics release, the judgment or the Hansard entry, and quotes that directly. A news story can point the editor to a source but is never quoted as a fact.
Can I suggest a source to add?
Yes. Send it through the correction request form with a link to the body's own website and a note saying what it publishes. It must be an official body with a public duty to publish.
Where can I learn how to use each source?
The source guides explain what each major body publishes, its key datasets, APIs, release schedule and the common ways its figures are misread. There is also a section answering the most-searched questions about UK data.