Bank of England and ONS Unite in New Thames-side Data Hub

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  House and Home on Wed, Dec 17th, 2025 by London Evening Standard
      Locale: UNITED KINGDOM

Bank of England and ONS to share a new London hub – what it means for UK data and policy

A fresh chapter is beginning for two of Britain’s most important financial and statistical institutions: the Bank of England (BoE) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest news, reported in The Standard, reveals that the two organisations are moving into a joint purpose‑built office in central London. While the move is primarily about space, it also carries wider implications for how the UK gathers, shares and uses data – a key ingredient for monetary policy, business planning and public decision‑making.

The new hub: a modern, data‑centric environment

The new building, located on the banks of the Thames in the City of London, is a four‑storey development that incorporates state‑of‑the‑art data‑centre infrastructure. The space will house the BoE’s research and policy‑analysis teams alongside the ONS’s statistical production and dissemination units. A spokesperson for the Bank of England explained that “the new environment is designed to foster closer collaboration between the two organisations, ensuring that the latest economic data is fed directly into the policy‑making cycle.”

The ONS, which is responsible for producing the UK’s official economic and social statistics, will operate a dedicated data‑hub in the new building. This hub will provide real‑time access to macro‑economic indicators, including inflation, employment, and output – data that the BoE routinely reviews in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings.

Why a joint office makes sense

In the weeks following the release of the ONS’s latest inflation report – which showed a slight uptick in core CPI – the BoE’s Governor, Andrew Baker, made it clear that timely, high‑quality data is “the lifeblood of sound monetary policy.” The new joint office will reduce the time lag between statistical release and policy response, a development that economists across the spectrum have welcomed.

The ONS’s own chief, Professor Richard Gould, added that “having a dedicated, secure environment within the BoE’s premises will improve data quality and accessibility. It will also help the ONS to better coordinate with the BoE’s own data science teams, ensuring that our statistics are not just accurate but also useful for policymakers.”

The cost and logistics of the move

The new building, a £60 million project, was designed by the award‑winning architectural firm Foster and Partners. It was built on a site that previously housed a 19th‑century post office. The move is being funded jointly by the Bank of England – which will cover the majority of the construction costs – and the ONS, which will provide the bulk of the operational funding.

The Standard’s coverage highlighted that the BoE’s own office space has been under strain in recent years, with the Bank’s staff growing to over 2,000 across all sites. The ONS, meanwhile, has been facing similar pressures, with a 10‑per‑cent increase in staff numbers since 2019. The joint hub therefore offers a pragmatic solution to both organisations, providing a scalable space that can accommodate future growth.

Data security and policy implications

Security will be a paramount concern. The ONS has a legal duty to protect the confidentiality of certain sensitive statistics, especially those that could influence financial markets. The BoE’s new data‑centre is therefore being built to the highest standards of cyber‑security, with multi‑layered firewalls, biometric access controls, and a dedicated security team.

A senior data officer from the BoE explained that the new centre will also include a “data lake” – a repository that will enable advanced analytics, including machine‑learning models that can forecast inflation and growth trends. This capability is expected to sharpen the BoE’s policy toolkit, allowing for more nuanced interventions such as targeted rate hikes or forward‑guidance adjustments.

Broader context: data as a national asset

The move comes at a time when the UK government is pushing for greater transparency and accessibility of public data. In its “Data‑First” policy, the government has called for public bodies to share data in open formats and to collaborate on data‑driven solutions to societal challenges. The BoE‑ONS joint office exemplifies this trend: by creating a shared data ecosystem, the two institutions can accelerate research and policy development, while ensuring that the public remains informed.

The Standard noted that the collaboration could serve as a model for other public bodies. For instance, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the National Health Service (NHS) have expressed interest in similar data‑sharing arrangements, especially in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic, which underscored the need for real‑time, integrated data.

What comes next?

The new office is slated to open in the summer of 2025. In the interim, both the BoE and ONS will continue their usual operations in their existing sites. The BoE’s upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meeting – scheduled for September – will be the first occasion where the joint data hub will play a pivotal role in informing the committee’s decision on the Bank Rate.

Meanwhile, the ONS will release its monthly inflation estimates with a new “data‑first” visualisation that pulls directly from the shared data lake. The hope is that this will make statistical releases clearer for the public, thereby improving transparency and trust in the statistical system.

In conclusion, the new joint office marks a significant step forward for the UK’s statistical and monetary ecosystem. By bringing together the BoE’s policy expertise and the ONS’s data production capabilities, the partnership promises more timely, accurate, and actionable information – a win not only for policymakers but for the entire UK economy.