After years dominated by COVID-19 statistics, the media and public spotlight is now on measures of economic growth and the cost of living, as well as climate change statistics, among a range of diverse issues.
Paul Allin, Honorary Officer for National Statistics, and RSS Chief Executive Stian Westlake have been meeting with senior members of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) over the past 12 months to discuss the most important issues the National Statistics Advisory Group (NSAG) have identified, recognising positive developments while drawing attention to areas for improvement, based on the expertise and experience embedded in the RSS.
A notable focus for the NSAG is in the area of public statistics, championing an approach that starts with the questions that need statistics to help answer them and to spotlight all relevant statistics, rather than just on those that are designated official or national statistics. The goal is to enable the needs of a wider range of users to be met by drawing on a wider range of official and non-official data and statistics. The NSAG is finalising its action plan for 2023 to work on the concept of public statistics in collaboration with UKSA and the Government Statistical Service.
Other elements of the NSAG agenda include:
- Measures of household inflation, supporting the development and regular publication of the Housing Costs Indices as a distinctive complement to the CPI and the legacy RPI;
- Greater UK-wide coordination and integration of official statistics, urging progress statistics by voluntary and pragmatic means with devolved administrations;
- International guidance and standards, including more debate on the appropriate position of international guidance in the UK statistical system;
- Governance of the statistical system, anticipating a Cabinet Office review of UKSA as an arms-length body, floated at the time of Sir Robert’s appointment and now mentioned in correspondence with PACAC, as the place to explore our concerns;
- User engagement, including the potential to maintain a kind of Statistics User Forum;
- Local and subnational data, regardless of whether or not levelling up continues as a UK government priority.
The
full update from NSAG, along with reflections of important developments from the past year, is available in our
policy documents section.