Official Statistics in the UK
Innovations in Governance
Mike Hughes
Office for National Statistics
20 February 2009
Outline
• Background to present system
• National Statistics System
• Legislation - the new approach
History
• 1941 - Central Statistical Office (CSO)
• 1968 - Government Statistical Service (GSS)
• 1996 - Office for National Statistics
• 2000 - Launch of current National Statistics
System
• 2008 - Statistics Act
Characteristics of ‘Statistics UK’
• Decentralised (GSS in 30+ departments)
• Coordinated through NSI (= ONS)
• ONS reported to Finance Ministry pre 2008
• Devolved ( 4 ‘UK’ Nations )
• European Union ( 27 ‘Other’ Nations )
• Global ( UN, IMF, World Bank )
• Largely non-statutory pre 2008
Genesis of Reforms
Statistics - part of the Political Process ?
• Counting ‘problems’ ?
Unemployment
• Crime
•
• Release ‘problems’ ?
• Pre-release ‘Spin’
• ‘Burying’ bad news
Political statements
• Labour Party Manifesto (1997)
An independent national statistical service
• Green Paper on Statistics Reform (1998)
Tony Blair (the then PM)………….
– Government is pledged to clean up and
modernise politics. We want a new relationship
between Government and citizens, based on
openness and trust
National Statistics System 2000
• New post- National Statistician
• New body - Statistics Commission
• Code of Practice
• Quality kite mark and new emphasis on
quality with Quality Reviews
• Greater accountability (Work Programme
and Annual Report)
• Framework Document
• New beginning ?
The phrase ‘National Statistics’
• Not an organisation
• Not a group of people
A designated set of statistical products
which:• are produced in accordance with Framework for
National Statistics
• meet standards set in National Statistics Code of
Practice
• are subject to regular Quality Reviews
UK Official Statistics - 4 Types
Non-GSS
Statistics
National Statistics
Other
GSS
Statistics
ONS
Statistics
NN
NNNS
Role of Statistics Commission
• Independent ‘Watchdog’
• Represented suppliers and users
• Advised Ministers of concerns about
quality
• Commented on Work Programme, Code
of Practice, Quality Reviews
• Operated with total transparency
• One-off Task - Review need for statistical
legislation
Strengths of previous system
• More rigorous external oversight (via
Statistics Commission) and greater
internal focus on:
– Professional standards
– Quality Management
– Relevance and Customer Service
– Confidentiality
– Joined-up Government
– Transparency and Consultation
Fault Lines in previous system
• Ministerial control of ‘Scope’
• Confusion between ‘National Statistics’ and
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‘Other Statistics’
Pre-release Access
Lack of funding and commitment
Lack of accountability to National Statistician
Lack of enforcement powers
Inconsistent compliance with Code
Low impact on public trust + confidence
Does statistical legislation
provide the answer ?
Public Trust in Official Statistics
• Only 17 percent (1 person in 5) believe
that UK official statistics are produced
without political interference
• 60 percent (3 persons in 5) think that the
government uses official statistics
dishonestly
• Most common reasons for not trusting
official statistics are:
– They contradict people’s personal experience
– They are perceived to be open to manipulation
Confidence in Official Statistics
However…..
More confidence in:
• Quality / Methodology of official statistics
• The Office for National Statistics itself
Conclusion……..
• Production/Outputs = Good quality
• Delivery and Presentation = Untrustworthy
Models for legislation
Model 1
Give Commission statutory powers reporting to
Parliament
Model 2
Give Commission statutory powers and make ONS
non-ministerial department, both reporting to
Parliament
Model 3
Give ONS statutory powers as a non-ministerial
department, reporting to Parliament subsuming
Commission role
STATISTICS ACT: MAIN FEATURES
• New body - The UK Statistics Authority
• Authority independent of Ministers – directly
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accountable to Parliament
Creates new Executive Office (= ONS)
Abolishes the Statistics Commission –
functions subsumed within the Authority
Statutory Code of Practice and new
Assessment function
Covers United Kingdom
THE UK STATISTICS AUTHORITY
• Established as ‘Non-Ministerial Department’.
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Replaces oversight role Treasury Ministers
had over ONS
Authority’s Board has majority of NonExecutives with a Non-Executive Chair
Executives on the Board comprise the
National Statistician and two others
Staff within the Authority and ‘Executive
Office’ to be civil servants
Special funding arrangements – 5 year
budget
THE STATISTICS AUTHORITY OBJECTIVE
Statutory objective
To promote and safeguard the production of
statistics that serve the public good.
By promoting and safeguarding:
• the quality of official statistics
• good statistical practice
• the comprehensiveness of official statistics
PRE-RELEASE ACCESS
• Excluded from Code of Practice, but……..
• The Government has set out new rules and
principles relating to the granting of pre-release
access to statistics - in secondary legislation
• Scottish, Welsh or NI Ministers can create their
own rules
• Compliance with rules subject to assessment by
the UK Statistics Authority
STRENGTHS OF LEGISLATION
• 2000 Reforms embedded in
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Legislation
Ministerial Role transferred to
Authority
Authority’s UK-wide remit
Statutory Code
Statutory accreditation of statistics
Opportunities for Data Sharing
ISSUES
• Ministerial control over ‘Pre-Release
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practices’
Lack of clear separation between scrutiny
and executive (production) roles
Board has responsibility for, but no authority
over, official statistics in other Government
bodies
Definition of “Official Statistics”
Weak arrangements for UK co-ordination
Thank you
THE NATIONAL STATISTICIAN
The National Statistician’s statutory role
comprises advisory and executive functions
• the Government’s (Authority’s) Chief Advisor
on statistical matters
• the Chief Executive of the Authority
• the establishment of an Executive Office (i.e.
the ONS-as-is).
• may not exercise the Authority’s functions
relating to Assessment and the Code of
Practice
ASSESSMENT FUNCTION
Authority has particular legal duties to:
• independently set professional standards in
a new Code of Practice
• ‘assess’ all National Statistics against those
standards (both current NS and additional
statistics nominated by Ministers)
• prepare and publish a work programme for
the re-assessment of National Statistics
• prepare and publish a Statement of
Principles of Assessment
Non-Legislative Provision
A central ‘Publication Hub’
A web portal through which all National
Statistics are published under the new system,
thereby separating statistical release from
political or policy comment
Combined with:
• Release Calendar
• Catalogue of all statistical releases
• Media Briefing Facility