Lies and construction statistics

The aim of the paper is to raise the awareness of all those who use or have an interest in construction statistics of the need to ensure that available data correctly reflect their expectations and requirements. The paper is in four sections. It first examines the reasons for the recent rise in interest in construction statistics and the claim that industry’s needs for them fail to be met by existing public and private data. It goes on to illustrate the links between providers of information, processors and users of data. The third section focuses on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of statistics. The final section explains the steps which are being taken to ensure better communications between government statisticians responsible for producing construction data and users. This endeavour should foster a better understanding of each other’s requirements and, hence, a more satisfactory supply of data to all interested parties. The ultimate goal is a comprehensive body of statistics which can be readily adapted to reflect the development and changing circumstances of the construction industry.