Standards
The rules the desk works under
Five tests, applied to every filing. They are published because a reader who cannot inspect the method cannot check the conclusion, and a publication that cannot be checked is only a tone of voice.
01 · Procedure
Five tests before publication
In force since 2016
01
The record is produced
A filing is checked against the primary document in its current consolidation. Where the document is not public, the filing says so and explains why the desk is relying on it.
02
The figure is rebuilt
Statistical figures are recomputed from the issuing agency’s table. A percentage copied from a summary is treated as unverified until the counts behind it have been read.
03
The other side is asked in writing
The institution or person affected receives the specific finding, in writing, with a deadline. Silence is reported as silence. A response received after publication is added to the foot of the filing rather than folded into the text.
04
A second reader signs off
Every filing is read by the standards editor before publication. The second reader checks the citation line, the fiscal year, the jurisdiction and the reversal route.
05
The correction is registered
Where a filing is wrong, the correction is appended with a date and a description of what changed. The register below is the complete list. We do not delete a filing to resolve an error.
02 · Anonymity
When a source is not named
Anonymity is granted by the editor, not by the reporter, and only where the source faces a concrete risk: employment, safety, or a legal exposure that is specific to them. The source’s identity is known to at least two people on the desk. The filing explains why the source is not named and what they are in a position to know.
We do not grant anonymity for opinion, for speculation about motives, or to a person who is themselves the subject of the filing and wishes to avoid attribution. A named official speaking in an official capacity is named.
03 · Numbers
How a figure is stated
Every figure carries four things: the issuing body, the table or clause, the reference period, and the denominator where a share is implied. Where a figure is a projection, the vintage of the projection is stated. Where two official series disagree, both are shown and the difference is described.
Dollar amounts are given in nominal terms unless the filing says otherwise, and per-capita figures name the population estimate used. A percentage change of less than one point is reported in points, not in percent, because the two are routinely confused in coverage and the confusion is not harmless.
04 · Corrections
Public register
Complete list · newest first
| Date | Filing | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | Equalization formula note | Corrected the description of the renewal period from five years to the period set in the federal regulation; the original text implied a statutory cycle. No figure changed. |
| 2026-10-22 | Arctic waters briefing | Clarified that the reporting requirement applies to vessels of a specified tonnage, not to all vessels. The original sentence was broader than the instrument. |
| 2026-10-09 | Immigration levels explainer | Replaced a projected admissions figure with the number published in the levels plan, and added the plan year. The earlier figure came from a ministerial background note. |