Where we get our information
Every number on this site comes from an official source, checked on the day the article is written. Here is exactly where we look, and how often we go back.
UniSorted covers money, housing, careers and university life for students and graduates in the UK. Those subjects run on numbers that move: loan rates, tax thresholds, application deadlines, energy caps, average rents. Getting them right is the whole job. So we do not copy figures from other websites, and we do not trust a number we cannot trace back to the body that sets it.
The sources we verify against
When an editor writes a figure, they check it against the primary source: the official page from the organisation that actually owns that number. In practice that means:
- gov.uk
- The official rules on student finance, tax, benefits and consumer rights.
- Student Finance England
- Maintenance and tuition loan amounts, repayment thresholds and plan types.
- HMRC
- Income tax, National Insurance, tax codes, and student loan repayment through payroll.
- UCAS
- The application cycle, key dates, Clearing, and admissions data.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Population, earnings, rent and cost-of-living data.
- HESA
- Student numbers, courses and graduate outcomes across UK higher education.
- Ofcom
- Mobile and broadband coverage, pricing and complaints data.
- Ofgem
- The energy price cap and the rules energy suppliers must follow.
- Association of British Insurers (ABI)
- Insurance market figures and averages.
- MoneyHelper
- The government-backed money guidance service we point readers to for regulated help.
How we check
The check happens at the moment of writing, not weeks later. When an editor puts a number in a guide, they open the source page that day and confirm it. If a figure cannot be confirmed against a primary source, it does not go in. That is what the "last verified" date near the author's name means: it is the day an editor last stood behind every figure on the page.
How often we go back
Different numbers change at different speeds, so we re-check on a schedule that matches the source rather than one blanket cadence. Rules set in law rarely move, so we revisit those when the law itself changes. Yearly figures such as tuition fees, loan amounts and tax thresholds get re-checked before 6 April and 1 August, the two dates most of them shift. Market figures such as average rents, energy prices and insurance costs are re-checked every three months. Fast-moving prices such as deals and promotional offers are re-checked every two weeks. Whichever applies, the "last verified" date on the article tells you when an editor last confirmed the numbers.
We also name our sources on the guides themselves, so you are never asked to take a figure on trust. For how these checks fit into the wider editorial process, see our methodology. Our full standard on independence and financing is in our editorial code, and if you spot a number that looks wrong, our corrections page explains how to flag it.
