Vacancy: National Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory Committee members

The closing date for applications is 16 May 2025 at 23:55pm

To support him in his role, the National Statistician has created a set of advisory committees and panels to provide advice on a range of topics. In November 2014, the National Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory Committee (NSDEC) was established to advise the National Statistician that the access, use and sharing of public data, for research and statistical purposes, is ethical and for the public good. Chaired by Helen Boaden, NSDEC considers project and policy proposals, which make use of innovative and novel data, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and beyond, and advise the National Statistician on the ethical appropriateness of these. We are seeking members for the next term of the Committee.

About the National Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory Committee

NSDEC provides ethics advice to the statistical system. This goes beyond just researchers and statisticians within the ONS, but also those across the GSS and the wider research community and academic sector, that use public authority data for research and statistical production.

The Committee:

• Provides ethical consideration that the collection, access, use and sharing of data for research and statistical purposes, is ethical and for the public good.
• Provides researchers and statisticians with independent and expert ethics advice and guidance at the design phase of a research project enables researchers to confidently move forward with important analysis, with the knowledge that such research meets the UK Statistics Authority’s ethical principles, and that any ethical risks have been appropriately thought through and mitigated against.
• Promotes transparency around data shares.
• Provides advice to the National Statistician on the basis of the following ethical principles:
  • The Public Good
  • Confidentiality and Data Security
  • Methods and Quality
  • Legal Compliance
  • Public Views and Engagement
  • Transparency

You can see examples of projects that have benefitted from the independent scrutiny the Committee provides in meeting minutes. Projects considered include:

• Student Suicide Statistics (ONS)
• Investigating vulnerabilities linked to serious youth violence using linked DfE & MoJ data (DfE & MoJ)
• Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and prevalence of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the UK general population as assessed through repeated cross-sectional household surveys with additional serial sampling and longitudinal follow-up (ONS & University of Oxford)
• Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (ONS & Home Office)
• Measurement of Vulnerability of Children and Young People in England (Alma Economics (commissioned by the Children’s Commissioner for England))

Reporting and Governance

NSDEC advises the National Statistician who is a member of the UK Statistics Authority Board.

Secretariat

Staff from the UK Statistics Authority’s Centre for Applied Data Ethics (CADE) provide dedicated Secretariat support to the Committee.

Person specification

We are seeking candidates (both expert and lay) with an interest in enabling ethical collection, access, use and sharing of data for research and statistical purposes.

For expert members, candidates should have experience in one or more of the following fields:

• Data Ethics
• Social research
• Economic research
• Data science
• Data linkage
• Engaging with public organisations on the use of data

For lay members, we are looking for candidates who:

• Feel they can represent a general public audience;
• Can comprehend complex information and engage in discussion;
• Can provide robust challenge; and
• Are interested in helping to maintain public trust in the UK statistical system.

Terms and Conditions of Employment

Time commitment

Members commit to attending NSDEC meetings for 4 half-days per year. Committee members are also asked to review up to 3 applications for ethics review per month, sent via email correspondence.

Timing of the appointments

The successful candidates will be appointed by mid-June 2025, with their first meeting scheduled on week commencing 21 July 2025. The other meeting date for 2025 is:

• Week commencing 20 October 2025

Location

NSDEC meetings are usually virtual meetings, although the committee may, on occasion, meet in person with a venue provided in London for those attending.

Remuneration

These posts are non-remunerated. All reasonable travel and subsistence costs will be reimbursed.

Period of appointment

The appointment will be for an initial period of three years. The possibility of renewal for a further similar period will be available at the discretion of the Chair.

Conflicts of interest

Candidates should not have interests that would be likely to conflict with their responsibilities as a member of NSDEC. Please declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process and also disclose information or personal connections that might, if successful, be open to misperception.