RSS president, Dr Andrew Garrett and RSS CEO Dr Sarah Cumbers have written to the Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), with a detailed statement in response to the independent review of UKSA. This follows the Society’s initial comment when the review was published on 12 March.
The statement welcomes the recommendations of the review, conducted by former RSS president, Prof Denise Lievesley, and sets out how the RSS could support UKSA in implementing them. However, it also flags some concerns with the government response.
In a letter to minister at the Cabinet Office, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the RSS highlights the response that government needs for statistics should take priority over user needs as particularly troubling and not in keeping with the need for statistics for the public good.
The RSS is also disappointed that the government is reluctant for other government departments to follow ONS in ending pre-release access to their statistics, something the Society has long been campaigning on to ensure greater public trust.
The RSS welcomes the review’s recommendation for a statistical assembly, and in the letter to the chair of UKSA, Sir Robert Chote, sets out the role for the RSS in ensuring this has support from the statistical community and also offers to work with the authority on the recommendations around data sharing.
Read the statement in full