How to Check Government Data
A short guide to reading official data carefully, so that you can check claims, including ours, for yourself.
Start with the source
Ask where a figure comes from. A number from an official dataset, a budget document or a court record carries more weight than a number repeated secondhand. See our data methodology for how we source and check our own data.
Check the date
Government data can be out of date by the time it is published, or revised later. Always check when the data was collected and when it was last updated, and be cautious about comparing figures from different periods without checking that the method was the same.
Watch for what is being compared
A number can be accurate but still misleading if it is compared unfairly, for example comparing totals of different sizes, or comparing figures that were measured in different ways. Look for the base figures behind a percentage change, not just the percentage itself.
Look for what is missing
Ask what the data does not cover. A procurement dataset that excludes emergency contracts, for example, tells only part of the story. Our datasets state their limits; official ones do not always do so as clearly.
Cross-check where you can
Compare an official figure against independent sources, such as our own Data section, other credible organisations' data, or documents obtained through an RTI request.
If you find a discrepancy
Submit evidence or contact us. We check every report we receive.