Dear Mr Bailey, Thank you for your letter regarding the claim made by the Shadow Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, in her response to the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023, that: “The economy is now forecast to be £40 billion smaller by 2027 than the Chancellor said back in March.” [1] The […]
Dear Sir Robert, I am writing to you regarding the use of statistics in recent communications from HM Treasury regarding personal taxes. On 6 January, HM Treasury issued communications stating someone on an average earnings would be £450 better off as a result of government tax cuts. This communication presented only a partial account of […]
Dear Sir Robert I am writing to you in relation to the government’s publication this week of ad-hoc statistics on the Home Office’s handling of asylum cases, and statements to the media by members of the government about these statistics. As you will be aware, both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have made claims […]
Dear Sir Robert, I am writing to raise concerns about the misrepresentation of asylum backlog figures by the Prime Minister on social media. On 2nd January, Rishi Sunak wrote on X that “I said that this government would clear the backlog of asylum decisions by the end of 2023. That’s exactly what we’ve done.” As […]
Dear Ms Olney, Thank you for your letter regarding recent statements by the Prime Minister about changes in public sector debt. As you note, the Prime Minister said that “debt is falling” in a video posted on social media following the King’s Speech on 7 November and that “we have indeed reduced debt” at Prime […]
Dear Sir Robert, I’m writing to raise concerns over recent comments made in Parliament by the Shadow Chancellor, the Rt Hon. Rachel Reeves MP. I think we can all agree that the proper use of statistics in public life is essential to trust in our politics. As a result, I am deeply concerned with the […]
Dear Sir Robert, I am writing to raise concerns about the misrepresentation of official public finance statistics by the Prime Minister in Parliament and on social media. At Prime Minister’s Questions on 22nd November, Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons: “we have indeed reduced debt.” However, the latest Public Sector Finances bulletin, published by […]
Dear Dr Gulhane, Thank you for your letter of 3 July regarding publications about the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland. You raised concerns about the communication of Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) evaluation of the MUP policy, which concluded in a final report published in June (that synthesized evidence from a […]
Dear Mr Kinnock, Thank you for your letter of 15 June. You raised concerns about the use of asylum backlog statistics by Ministers and the definition of the asylum backlog. You gave two examples of statements made recently by Ministers: On 8 March, the Prime Minister said the asylum backlog had reduced by 6,000. On […]
Dear Minister, Thank you for your letter of 17 April responding to concerns about statistics used in discussion of the backlog of outstanding asylum cases[1]. I very much welcome the clarification you made and your acknowledgment of the importance of accurate and appropriate use of evidence and statistics. In a similar spirit, but on a […]