DWP ministers receive the most letters from the statistics watchdog

According to the BBC, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has received more letters from the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) critiquing or suggesting changes to its use of statistics than any other department.

The BBC found 17 out of 48 such letters sent since the last General Election in 2010 were about the DWP. Since 2008, 17 out of 60 were.

The department in second place was the Department of Health with five.

The UKSA, the body responsible for monitoring the quality and use of official statistics, will often respond to complaints by writing to the ministers concerned but may also respond through other means.

In a statement to the BBC, the UKSA suggested the higher proportion was partly down to the controversy surrounding some of the topic areas the DWP covers, as well as the complexity of the department's systems and its statistical practices.

Update 03/07/14

The BBC have re-read the letters and removed one from the 'critical' count so the total is now 16 out of 47 since 2010.