Office for National Statistics (ONS) employees have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for their outstanding service during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and for their service to disability, diversity and inclusion.
The last 12 months have seen an incredible demand for public data and the ONS has been right at the heart of this. From web scraping Google mobility data to introducing new surveys such as the COVID-19 Infection Survey, to publishing regular outputs tracking mortality. That work has not gone unnoticed.
Myer Glickman has been awarded an OBE for his outstanding service to Health Analysis over the past 20 years, while colleague Sarah Caul has been awarded an MBE for playing an integral role in the delivery of vital mortality statistics needed to help monitor and understand the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Sue Reeves has been recognised with an MBE for her outstanding service to disability, diversity and inclusion.
Offering his congratulations National Statistician Sir Ian Diamond said:
“I am delighted the Queen’s Birthday honours have recognised colleagues from within the ONS. From health analysis to disability and inclusion, we have worked above and beyond over the past year to inform the UK and make the ONS a brilliant organisation. These awards are a testament to the hard work, dedication and public service colleagues have shown.”
During his 20 years at the ONS, Myer has revolutionised the analysis of mortality in the United Kingdom and has designed methods which have played a great part in helping our understanding of inequalities and mortality patterns. In early 2020, Myer recognised the increasing significance of coronavirus (COVID-19) before the pandemic reached the UK. He ensured that systems, procedures and contingency plans were in place to allow health analysis to continue and used his expertise to design and deliver high quality COVID-19 mortality analysis which helped to guide the government response.
Myer, 58, from Pontypool, said:
“I’m honoured to receive this award, but this is really recognition for the hugely important work the whole team has done in an unprecedented time. We’ve had to work under pressure and with immediate national impact, that none of us have ever experienced and we have done that together.”
The last 12 months have seen an incredible demand for public data and head of mortality analysis Sarah Caul has been right at the heart of this, leading on what was once a little-known weekly dataset that became one of the most important and widely used documents for tracking deaths throughout the pandemic.
Sarah, 30, from Cardiff said:
“It is an honour to receive this award and I am thrilled that the work my colleagues and I have undertaken in the last 12 months has been recognised.
It has been a challenging year, but I am proud to have been involved in producing such vital information to help understand the impact of COVID-19.”
As a civil servant of 33 years, Sue, 52, from Gosport, has spent the last 17 years helping colleagues with disabilities find their feet in the workplace, all in a voluntary capacity and on top of her usual duties and responsibilities. Throughout this period, Sue has chaired the ONS Disability Group, has helped to establish the LGBT network and is an ONS mental health ally, supporting staff across the department.
Sue said:
“I feel extremely honoured to receive this award and will continue to work to make the Civil Service an even more inclusive environment going forward.”
Sue’s impact is not only contained to the ONS. As ONS representative and Chair of the Civil Service Disability Network (CSDN), Sue has worked to make the CSDN is a network that is strong and a voice for disabled staff in the Civil Service.
The full list of 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours can be found on the gov.uk website.