Writing and editing Co-authoring content with third parties

ONS house style takes precedence

It is important that all content published on the ONS website follows our house style. If you are working with a third party (such as another government department) on a publication that will be published on ons.gov.uk (opens in a new tab) , our house style should always take precedence. Make sure your collaborators are aware of this when you start writing content.

Following our house style makes it easier for all users to navigate and understand our content. It also avoids misinterpretation and accessibility issues.

Formatting the names of other government departments

When writing the names of government departments, use “and” rather than an ampersand “&”. There is more information available on writing symbols and special characters (opens in a new tab) 

Using logos

Use text rather than including an image of a third party’s logo to show collaboration.

Acknowledging external contributors

If you need to credit an external organisation that you have collaborated with when writing the content, include an acknowledgements subsection within:

• the Measuring the data section of a bulletin or headline release
• the Data sources and quality section of an analysis article
• a section near the end of an information article or methodology page

Avoid adding acknowledgements as numbered sections, or as subsections near the beginning of publications. The main analysis and information should always come first to reflect users’ priorities.

Acknowledgments sections should only name the team or organisation that has contributed to the publication.