Index of Production, UK: April 2022

• Monthly production output fell by 0.6% between March and April 2022, reaching a level that was 2.2% below February 2020; this was the last month of "normal" trading conditions before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The monthly fall in output resulted from weaknesses in two of the four production sectors, with manufacturing falling by 1.0% and mining and quarrying falling by 0.8%; in contrast, water supply and sewerage rose by 1.7% and electricity and gas rose by 0.6%.
• Manufacturing saw 8 of its 13 sub-sectors negatively contribute to growth during April; most notably, manufacturing of computer, electronic and optical products fell by 4.6%, and other manufacturing and repair fell by 4.2%.
• Output remained below the February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in three of the four production sectors; monthly manufacturing output was 2.0% below, mining and quarrying was 14.4% below, and electricity and gas was 5.4% below, while water supply and sewerage was 10.0% above the February 2020 level.
• For the three months to April 2022, production output rose by 0.1%, compared with the three months to January 2022; the rise of 1.7% in mining and quarrying, 0.6% in electricity and gas and 0.3% in water supply and sewerage was partially offset by a fall of 0.2% in manufacturing.
• Further analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Production estimate is available in our GDP monthly estimate, UK: April 2022 bulletin, published 13 June 2022 bulletin.

The Index of Production (IoP) uses data from a variety of sources. It is calculated by taking turnover and removing the impact of price changes, or by using direct volume estimates.

Most of these data are collected as "turnover values" through the Monthly Business Survey (MBS). In addition, direct volume series are collected by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the International Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB) for steel industries.

From January 2018, Value Added Tax (VAT) data have also been included across 64 production industries for small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information, see our VAT turnover data in national accounts: background and methodology article.

A comprehensive list of the IoP source data can be found in our Gross domestic product (GDP) source catalogue (XLS, 715KB).

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our  UK IoP Quality and Methodology Information methodology.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Monthly Business Survey (MBS) is fully online. Business owners can log on from any location and submit their data at an appropriate time. Most other data in the IoP come from the BEIS and therefore will be less affected than survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the UK economy and population are available on our Data and analysis on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population page. This is the hub for all special coronavirus-related publications, including the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).

Economic statistics governance after EU exit

Following the UK's exit from the EU, new governance arrangements are being put in place. These will support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics. These governance arrangements will promote international comparability, and add to the credibility and independence of the UK's statistical system.

At the centre of this new governance framework there will be the new National Statistician's Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE). NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world-leading. The advice that NSCASE provides to the National Statistician will span the full range of domains in economic statistics, including:

• the National Accounts

• fiscal statistics

• prices

• trade and the balance of payments

• labour market statistics

You can access further information on the NSCASE on the UK Statistics Authority's website.