Fair Work Action Plan: indicator report 2026
Report setting out the most recent data available for the Fair Work Action Plan's (FWAP) medium-term indicators. These are used to monitor progress towards the outcomes set out in the FWAP.
Annex B: Update on the ONS Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey
The indicators contained within the Fair Work evidence plan draw primarily from official sources. In particular, the Annual Population Survey (APS) produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
ONS conducted analysis to assess the impact of falling sample sizes over recent years on the quality of Annual Population Survey estimates. ONS state that although the Annual Population Survey estimates are robust at National and headline regional level (which includes Scotland), there are concerns with the quality of estimates for smaller groups of the population e.g. minority ethnic groups.[23] ONS are continuing to address the quality concerns by assessing the recent operational and strategic changes to the APS and communicating how the data should be used. Alongside their monthly labour market statistics release in September 2026, ONS published an assessment of the Annual Population Survey data quality.
Given the increased uncertainty in the Annual Population Survey estimates, the Chief Statistician for Scotland published a statement on the ONS Annual Population Survey in November 2024.[24] This statement noted Scottish Government labour market analysts’ intention to conduct a detailed quality assessment of the ONS Annual Population Survey data used within their publications to ensure their outputs continue to provide the best value and quality data possible for users. In April 2025, phase one of the Scottish Government’s Quality Assessment of the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey data for Scotland was published. Annex 5 of the report provides a detailed Quality Assessment of the results for the Fair Work Convention Fair Work Indicators. The Scottish Government continues to be committed to providing high quality labour market statistics and is exploring alternative sources for labour market statistics.
Following the initial Scottish Government quality assessment of the ONS Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey data for Scotland, a paper outlining the Scottish Government’s decision to discontinue funding for the local LFS boost for Scotland was published in October 2025. The Change to Labour Market Statistics in Scotland: What you need to know paper assesses the potential impact of this change on labour market statistics for Scotland and sets out our plans to ensure access to high-quality labour market statistics for Scotland going forward.
The ONS’s strategic solution to the challenges affecting the APS is the ONS Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS). The TLFS will replace LFS and APS-based outputs to provide high-quality and granular estimates of changes in the labour market. The survey is moving to being ‘online-first’, which will enable the ONS to increase the sample size, improve response rates and improve representativeness. ONS are currently intending to transition to TLFS as the main source of headline labour market statistics in 2027. However, ONS state that the transition to the TLFS will be when “evidence shows it can meet user needs and quality requirements”. The Scottish Government will require further information from ONS on the outcome of this work to fully explore and understand the impact the TLFS will have on Scottish labour market data. Further detail on recent developments around the TLFS is available in ONS’s recent Labour market transformation – update on progress and plans - Office for National Statistics