Government has promised to bring its economic statistics up to date by next month, after falling behind by almost a year.

And opposition leader Grant Gibbons has criticised the Government for failing to publish any of this year?s data in a timely fashion.

At the moment, the most recent data from the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics is for the final quarter of 2002, and repeated requests to the Department of Statistics for more updated information for the first and second quarter of 2003 have gone unanswered.

?What I believe the country needs is the timely and regular release of information from Government,? said Dr. Gibbons. ?We have had a lot of promises about openness, but the dissemination of information about the economy and Government finance information just seems to be getting worse.?

Yesterday, in response to a series of questions from , the Department of Communication and Information (DCI) said that they were updating the format of the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics and would publish information up to the end of September next month, in December.

The Quarterly Bulletin includes key information on the economy such as the balance of payments, government revenue and inflation.

It gives a snapshot of the health of the tourism, international business and constructions sectors, quarter by quarter.

Key figures about tourism are included, as well as visitor numbers and spending and details on construction projects and the country?s imports.

Details about employment are also published, including employment income and a breakdown of total employment figures by occupation and industry groups.

The number and type of new businesses registering in Bermuda as well as this sector?s outlays and employment also give an indication of the health of the international business sector.

But at the moment, the most recent data available to the public is to the end of 2002, leaving almost a year?s gap between figures.

Dr. Gibbons said that if the Government wanted to change the format of the document, they could have continued to publish the data as they received it, and when the new format was ready, publish it.

?What I have observed is a pattern emerging ? information is released when it is convenient or suits Government and this seems to be particularly true in regard to the tourism statistics.

In response to a question about when the next bulletin was due out, Valerie Pethin, of DCI, said: ?The information that would have been in the published bulletins in the first, second and third quarters will be included and that will bring the publication up to date.?

When asked why it had taken so long for the bulletin to be published, she said: ?The bulletin is being changed to make the style more appealing and reader-friendly.

?It will also include charts and graphs along with analysis of the figures. Although the bulletin has not been published, the information has still been available on request and we have provided the information to many businesses and individuals.?

And she denied that the changes made to the bulletin would alter the content and said it would still be printed quarterly.

When asked about speculation about the Ministry of Finance holding up proceedings because of not signing off on data, Mrs. Pethin said: ?The Ministry of Finance is not holding up production. The statistics department comes under the Cabinet Office.?