UK inflation overstated due to government data error, ONS says

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UK inflation was overstated by 0.1 percentage points in April owing to an error in tax figures provided by a government department, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday.

Annual inflation was 3.4 per cent, according to the corrected data, rather than the 3.5 per cent initially estimated.

The ONS said an error had been identified “in an extract of the licensed vehicles data provided . . . by the Department for Transport, used to calculate the April 2025 Vehicle Excise Duty component of consumer prices inflation”.

It said the incorrect data had overstated the number of vehicles subject to VED rates applicable in the first year of registration.

“No other periods are affected . . . The ONS will be using the correctly weighted data from May 2025’s figures onwards. The DfT’s published official statistics are unaffected,” it added.

The ONS said the error was isolated to one set of data used to calculate the VED index.

“However,” it added, “the ONS is reviewing its quality assurance processes for external data sources in light of this issue.”

This is a developing story