ONS Business Engagement Survey

Results updated 17 Jul 2026

Executive Summary: 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is committed to improving business surveys which are fundamental to measuring and understanding the UK economy. The latest update on our Surveys and Economic Statistics Improvement programme has recently been published ONS surveys and economic statistics improvement plan, quarterly progress update: July 2026 - Office for National Statistics.  

Across our business surveys, we are seeing encouraging signs of improvement and stability in our response rates. Moving more of our surveys online and modernising our operational processes, including expansion of account management for the UK’s largest businesses, is delivering real improvements to our business support services as well as enhancing data quality. We have also reviewed our communications and taken action to aid clarity and understanding. 

We recognise the time and resource that it takes organisations to complete our business surveys. We are actively working to make our surveys simpler and less burdensome to complete. To inform this, we recently held a six-week engagement exercise from 23 March to 1 May 2026 to capture UK organisations’ perceptions and experiences of ONS business surveys.  

While this exercise captured a limited sample of views, the results show that there are further opportunities for the ONS to strengthen engagement, as well as improve the support available for businesses to complete our surveys. We appreciate respondents taking the time to feedback on current issues and suggestions for improvement.  

We will combine this feedback with insight from our regular channels to inform current improvement activity and future work as part of our ongoing Business Surveys Transformation Programme. We will also be discussing the results, alongside a similar study by Better Statistics, at an upcoming roundtable with various organisations representing businesses. This is part of a new, regular series of panels set up to improve the ONS’s engagement with businesses. 

We asked: 

This recent engagement exercise sought to capture UK business perceptions and experience of our business surveys to gather evidence to improve how we work with and support UK businesses. This exercise was publicised through ONS social media, business forums, the ONS online secure data collection platform and through respondent interaction with ONS business survey teams. We received 67 responses from a broad range of organisations, 50 of whom had completed at least one ONS business survey in the last year.

We would like to thank all respondents for their valuable time in sharing their views.  

You said: 

Respondent Characteristics:  

We received a total of 67 responses to this exercise. Respondents included micro (0 to 9 employees), small (10 to 49 employees), medium (50 to 249 employees) and large (250+ employees) organisations. Twenty business sectors were represented, with the largest being Manufacturing (25.4%).

This volunteer sample provides valuable insights but is not representative of all organisations and therefore caution is advised when generalising results.  

Knowledge of the ONS: 

Respondents were aware of the ONS, with 70.1% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that ‘I am aware of who the ONS is’. Respondents were less aware of the ONS’s independent status with 38.8% agreeing or strongly agreeing that ‘The ONS is an independent organisation’.  

Respondents of ONS Business Surveys: 

Of the 50 respondents who had completed an ONS business survey in the last year, the responsibility for completing ONS business surveys commonly included business owners, company directors, executives, accountants, finance operatives, and secretaries. Almost half (48.0%) of respondents reported that 2 to 15 employees could be called upon to help to complete ONS business surveys.

Respondent experience of ONS business surveys: 

Organisations most commonly reported spending 20 to 50 hours (with a range of 6 minutes to 120 hours) completing ONS business surveys across the year. Most respondents (63.8%) found that completion of ONS business surveys was difficult or very difficult, whilst 14.9% reported survey completion to be easy or very easy. 

Respondents rated statements about their experience of completing ONS business surveys, these responses highlighted that: 

• around three-quarters (73.5%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that ‘ONS makes it clear when a business survey is required to be completed by law’ 

• more than three-quarters (82.0%) of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed, that ‘The number of surveys the ONS sends my organisation is reasonable’, whilst 8.0% agreed or strongly agreed 

• less than half (42.9%) of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that ‘The ONS provides timely notice of the surveys my organisation is required to complete’, whilst 32.7% agreed or strongly agreed 

• 18.4% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that ‘The ONS informs me about how my organisations' data will be used’ 

• around a third (36.0%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that ‘The ONS business surveys support team is helpful’ 

In-depth feedback: 

In-depth feedback was provided by 45 respondents about their experience of completing ONS business surveys and how ONS could better support and engage with their organisation. The following main themes emerged: 

Survey burden and inefficiency: 

• Respondents raised concerns around the burden and inefficiency of ONS business surveys, including duplication of questions across surveys and information requests from other government departments.  

• Concerns were also raised about the lack of support available to help prepare for ONS business surveys, short and poorly timed deadlines, and that the reporting period of ONS business surveys does not match internal reporting cycles.  

• Respondents made requests for a decrease in survey quantity and frequency, particularly for small organisations, and further flexibility and predictability in timescales. 

Survey relevance: 

• Some respondents found the relevance of ONS business surveys to their organisation unclear and asked for a clear process to query completion of surveys not relevant to their organisation. 

Organisational value: 

• The value of participating in ONS business surveys was unclear, especially for small businesses. 

Fairness of participation in surveys: 

• Respondents found it unclear how organisations are selected for ONS business surveys and how long they will be selected for. They requested a more balanced distribution of ONS business surveys across organisations and a reduction in continuous participation.  

• Changes were also requested to the use of fines, the mandatory nature of completion, and the lack of compensation for time spent completing ONS business surveys.  

Survey usability and delivery mechanisms: 

• Respondents noted that multiple completion modes make it difficult to track and manage surveys. A single, centralised platform to manage all surveys would be preferred.  

• Some respondents found Excel spreadsheet and online surveys hard to navigate, particularly for those with low IT confidence. However, some respondents noted that online survey completion had made the process easier but suggested improvements.  

• Respondents also reported that assigning survey completion to a single person was difficult as questions required input from staff in different roles. 

Respondent support and issue resolution: 

• Respondents reported difficulties in contacting the right team to raise issues or have them resolved promptly; they felt that they don’t get the help that they need. For example, respondents found it unclear how to contact the ONS to correct data errors in survey data once submitted or to query why they were selected when surveys seemed not relevant to their organisation. 

Communication and respect in engagement: 

• Communications from the ONS could be seen as impersonal and lacking in respect. For example, some respondents felt that in relation to legal notices and potential fines for non-completion, the tone of our communications was intimidating.   

• Respondents want more polite, customer-focused language, clear communication of goals, and accessible, responsive channels. 

We did: 

We committed to publishing this response to the engagement exercise by summer 2026. 

Ongoing and future ONS improvement activity:  

This exercise is part of a comprehensive programme to improve ONS business surveys. Over the coming years our business surveys will adapt to support the implementation of new international standards across UK National Accounts. We aim to reduce respondent burden through greater use of alternative data sources, survey harmonisation and simplification.For example, we are currently exploring ways to improve the user experience of our online surveys, developing new capability that will make them easier to complete. 

We will continue to improve how we communicate with ONS business survey respondents, ensuring they have the right information, at the right time through improved engagement. The results showed that clearer communication is needed about how the ONS uses business survey data and, for example, how the ONS is an impartial arms-length body governed by the UK Statistics Authority.

Our updated ONS ‘Information for Businesses’ webpages are one example of the improvements we are already putting in place to improve signposting and guidance for greater transparency. We are also increasing visibility of the ONS Official Statistics that matter to our business respondents. For example, ONS Explore Local Statistics publishes up to date statistics for local areas for more than 100 indicators, such as the population, economy, housing, health, wellbeing and connectivity.

The results show that there are further opportunities for the ONS to improve engagement with businesses to complete our surveys. We acknowledge the issues raised by respondents and appreciate all suggestions for improvement. We will be discussing the results, alongside a similar study by Better Statistics, at an upcoming roundtable with various organisations representing businesses. This is part of a new, regular series of panels set up to improve the ONS’s engagement with businesses. 

The valuable insights provided by businesses through this exercise, and via our regular channels, is informing our current improvement activity and future work as part of our ongoing Business Surveys Transformation Programme. We are currently developing plans for the next financial year and will continue to update these on our website: ONS economic statistics and surveys improvement plans and updates. 

Contact business.surveys.engagement@ons.gov.uk