GDP Quarterly National Accounts: Quality and Methodology Information

Accessibility and clarity

Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the release details, illustrations and accompanying advice.

Data from the GDP quarterly national accounts is published on the Scottish Government website at 09:30 on the day of release. GDP statistics are usually published on the Wednesday of the final week of each month (which can be the 1st or 2nd of the following month).

All publications can be found on the Scottish Government economy statistics page, or by navigating to the URL www.gov.scot/gdp. Publication dates are pre-announced in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The month of publication is announced a year in advance, and the specific date is announced at least a month in advance. In practice, the GDP statistics stick to the regular schedule noted above, and dates are finalised and announced at least 3 months in advance in each publication.

Data are provided in spreadsheet format. Commentary is provided in html format on the publication webpage, and in a downloadable pdf document which can include charts and diagrams alongside the text. We are continuing to adapt and refine our releases to ensure that they meet accessibility requirements.

Pre-release access to GDP statistics is now forbidden in most cases by the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Act 2021. Pre-release access continues to be granted at times to staff at the Scottish Fiscal Commission to ensure that forecasts being prepared at the same time or shortly after the publication of the GDP statistics are properly informed by those statistics.