Accountability report

Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, HM Treasury has directed the Authority to prepare for each financial year resource accounts detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of during the year and the use of resources by the Authority during the year.

The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Authority and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows for the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

• observe the Accounts Direction issued by HM Treasury, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis;
• make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis;
• state whether applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts;
• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis;
• confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable.

HM Treasury has appointed the Permanent Secretary of the Authority as Accounting Officer of the Authority.

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the Authority’s assets, are set out in Managing Public Money published by the HM Treasury.

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Authority’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

Governance statement

Responsibilities

As Accounting Officer, I have responsibility for maintaining effective governance and a sound system of internal control to support the achievement of the Authority’s policies, aims and objectives. As part of this role I safeguard the public funds and assets for which I am personally responsible, in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to me. I confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and I take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable. This statement sets out the key challenges faced by the UK Statistics Authority (the Authority), the issues which have arisen, the remaining risks, and the system of control to manage these risks. Our Governance Statement supports the description of our performance provided in the Annual Report (Chapter 2) which sets out our strategy and the progress we have made towards delivery.

In line with commitments made by the Authority to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, I appointed Mr Ed Humpherson as an additional Accounting Officer, with responsibility for the OSR budget, from 1 June 2020. The appointment was made at my discretion under the terms of Managing Public Money policy, whereby additional accounting officers for defined parts of the department’s business can be appointed by the principal Accounting Officer. The position carries with it the responsibility for ensuring that resources approved by the UK Statistics Authority Board for the Office for Statistics Regulation are used for the purposes intended.

Compliance with the Corporate Governance Code

I have assessed the Authority’s compliance with the Corporate Governance in the Central Government Departments’ Code of Good Practice 2017. The code focuses on governance arrangements for ministerial departments, Section 1.1 ministerial chairmanship of the Board is not directly relevant to the Authority due to our statutory framework and status as a non-ministerial department. However, in all other areas we comply with the spirit and principles of the code.

Role of the Authority Board during 2022/23

The UK Statistics Authority Board (Authority Board) has the statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that ‘serve the public good’. In accordance with the 2007 Act, the Authority Board is comprised of a majority of non-executive directors (including a Chair) appointed through open competition, and three executive members, as set out in the 2022/23 Governance and Committees of the Board table.

The post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority is a Crown appointment. Sir Robert Chote was appointed following an open competition and subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and a formal debate on the floor of the House of Commons. Sir Robert took up his post on 1 June 2022 and his term of appointment, for a five year term. Sian Jones was the interim Chair from 1 April 2022 to 30 May 2022.

Governance and Committees of the Authority Board during 2022/23

During 2022/23 sub-committees, which supported the Authority Board in its work and reported to it, met as follows.

Topics covered by each committee

Authority Board

Strategy and Business planning; Board effectiveness; Census 2021; Future of Population and migration statistics; COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) and Surveillance Studies; Digital CIS; Economic Statistics transformation; Inclusive Data Taskforce; Integrated Data Service Programme; National Statistics Designation; Strategic Risks; UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey; Policy Liaison Unit; Public Confidence in Official Statistics; Field Data Strategy; Data Assets; People Plan; UK Labour Market; Subnational Statistics/ONS Local; Business Survey Transformation.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Annual Report and Accounts; Business planning; Risk and Assurance (including risk management); Census and Data Collection Transformation Programme; COVID-19 Infection Survey; Committee effectiveness; Corporate Governance Assurance; External Audit; Finances; Fraud; Integrated Data Service Programme; Whistleblowing; Data Acquisition; GDPR; Office for Statistics Regulation annual update; Internal Audits: Legacy transformation; Security and Data Protection; Statistical Quality, Economic statistics transformation.

Regulation Committee

Annual Business Plan and Regulatory Programme; Annual Review of Casework; National Statistics Designation Review; OSR Maturity Model; Risk Management; Horizon Scanning; Annual Review of Committee Effectiveness; Transparency; UK Standard Industrial Classification; Data Linkage; Statistical Literacy; Guidance for Models; Assessments: 2021 Censuses in England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Census in Scotland; Population and Migration; Police Recorded Crime; Climate Change; Economic Classifications; State of the Statistical System; Systemic Reviews: COVID-19 and Lessons Learned.

Remuneration Committee

Senior Civil Service performance moderation (base pay and non-consolidated performance related award).

Attendance at the Authority Board and its sub-committees

Board Effectiveness Review

This year’s board effectiveness review was overseen by the Chair of the Authority Board. A survey was undertaken that sought members’ views on:

• processes for agreeing business plans
• adequacy of information provided to the Board, to allow it to monitor performance and progress
• board composition and culture
• support for members
• areas of focus for the coming year

The outcome of the survey was discussed at the board meeting in July 2022. The responses indicated an improvement in the operation of the Board in a number of areas including business planning and risk discussions. The Chair continued to provide an open and supportive culture to allow an inclusive, open and challenging environment for discussion. The Board considered important strategic issues focusing on the delivery of the strategy, Statistics for the Public Good. Members indicated that in the coming year, delivery of the strategy should continue to be the area of focus including the Integrated Data Service, the Digital COVID-19 Infection Survey, dissemination of Census outputs, statistics transformation, people issues and the trustworthy communication of quality statistics.

Assurance over the quality of information

The Authority Board recognised the need to ensure it receives sound advice and information to enable informed decisions to be made.

The Secretariat works with teams to ensure the information provided is of a good quality, with a template used for committee papers, structured to ensure risks and resource implications are highlighted and to ensure sufficient engagement and challenge during discussions.

The structure and information contained in regular agenda items are reviewed annually as part of the board effectiveness review.

An Integrated Performance and Finance Report is provided to the Authority Board in each meeting to aid decision making and the Strategic Risk framework has been discussed throughout 2022/23. Overall, the Authority Board has been content with the quality of the data it has been provided with during the year.

Executive Committees during 2022/23

I chair the National Statistics Executive Group (NSEG). The role of NSEG is to support the National Statistician in the exercise of my functions as the Head of the Government Statistics Service (GSS) and Analysis Function, and as Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority and ONS, so as to achieve the collective mission and strategic objectives of the official statistics system.

This group met on 6 occasions during 2022/23.

Risk management approach

The Risk and Assurance Framework provides our mechanism for the identification and analysis of risk across the ONS. It also ensures we can provide assurance that risks to the delivery of the Authority’s Strategy are being managed within risk appetite.

The Authority Board has ultimate accountability for risk management, with responsibility for agreeing our Strategic Risk profile and the associated risk appetite. Updates on the Strategic Risk profile are provided to the Board on a bi-annual basis.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee has responsibility for advising the Board on the effectiveness of governance, risk management and the system of internal control. Updates are provided to each ARAC meeting on the evolving Strategic Risk profile, as well as other relevant risk and assurance activities. ARAC provides scrutiny over the management of the strategic risks in order to satisfy itself that major risks are identified, that mitigation strategies and appropriate levels of assurance are in place, and regularly challenge and hold the Risk and Assurance team and Strategic Risk Owners to account.

Executive accountability for risk management resides with the National Statistician (the Accounting Officer), with executive oversight residing with the National Statistician’s Executive Group (NSEG) and its sub-committee the Projects and Investment Committee (PIC). NSEG receives updates on the Strategic Risks at each meeting through the monthly Integrated Performance Report, and more in-depth analysis of the emerging risk environment and Strategic Risk profile on a quarterly basis through the Strategic Risk & Assurance Report. Risk owners are accountable for providing their updates to the relevant sub committees with the Risk and Assurance team providing independent assessment of progress.

The Authority operates a ‘Three Lines of Defence’ model to distinguish the different executive responsibilities for risk and assurance:

1. First line: Owns and manages risk including implementation of controls and have primary responsibility for establishing effective governance and control frameworks. Undertaken by our senior leaders and Directors.
2. Second Line: Functions that set risk and assurance policy and frameworks to enable risk and compliance to be managed in the first line. They provide independent (of management chain) oversight and constructive challenge, advice and review of the first line to support the management of risks and achievement of objectives.
3. Third line: Provides assurance to the Accounting Officer, ARAC and the Authority Board that risk management and controls are appropriate and effective through independently and objectively evaluating internal controls, risk management and governance processes. This is undertaken by Internal Audit. For programmes on the Government Major Projects Portfolio, third line assurance is also provided by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

The Authority Risk Management and Assurance Framework complies with the Government Finance Function’s Orange Book principles for risk management.

In 2022/23 the Authority’s Risk & Assurance team undertook its annual risk maturity assessment which noted an increase in maturity compared to the prior year and slightly above the benchmark score across other government organisations.

UK Statistics Authority strategic risks

The Strategic Risk profile (Figure 1) demonstrates the most significant risks to the successful delivery of the UKSA Strategy and its statutory objectives, owned by the UKSA senior leadership. The profile is agreed by the Authority Board on an annual basis, with reference to the UKSA Strategy, the ONS Business Plan and the external environment. There have been no newly identified risks during 22/23.

UK Statistics Authority strategic risks summary

Independence and trustworthiness

The risk that the statutory independence of the UK Statistics Authority is, or is perceived to be, compromised by political interests or commercial relationships.

Mitigation includes – clear internal governance and oversight of strategy delivery and income streams; regular engagement with Parliament (including through the National Statistician appearing before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee) and responding to public enquiries; intervening when statistics are misused; fair and open recruitment processes for the Authority Chair, National Statistician and Non-Executive Directors; safeguards to ensure funding does not compromise independence and clear separation of roles within the Authority (e.g. the role of OSR).

Keeping pace with the analytical priorities of society

The risk that the UKSA does not identify or prioritise answering the key analytical questions to respond with agility and pace in and provide timely and relevant data and/or does not take opportunities to collaborate on analysis across Government, devolved regions, local authorities, data providers and data users.

Mitigation includes – regular and ongoing stakeholder engagement with the centre of government; cross-ONS and GSS horizon scanning; the evolving workplan of the Analytical Hub; improving the availability, dissemination and range of statistics and analysis providing insight at subnational level of geography (ONS Local); ensuring preparedness for crisis response; collation of insight from external non-government users to inform analytical priorities.

Delivery of strategic ambition

The risk that the UKSA is unable to ensure that appropriate investment and/or resource is allocated to the key activities that impact on the strategy, and/or is unable to respond with agility to new/emerging priorities.

Mitigation includes – regular engagement with HMT including submission of fiscal returns and investment cases; ongoing financial management; Efficiencies Programme and framework for facilitating and managing delivery of efficiencies; prioritisation framework informing decision making, supported by end to end cost and resource plans; quarterly assessments to understand capacity to deliver priorities; maintenance of robust, agile and forward-facing business plan alongside scrutiny of delivery of business plan, objectives and programmes.

Quality statistics

The risk that the quality (and/or perception of quality) of UKSA outputs diminishes due to the scope, nature and focus of statistics changing, in addition to the use of wider data sources, the streamlining of processes, legacy technology and updated methodological approaches.

Mitigation includes – the Statistical Quality Maturity Model (SQMM) to assess process, methods, and systems in output areas; divisional Quality Improvement Plans; training and guidance; scrutiny of errors and near misses; implementation of reproducible analytical pipelines and automation to reduce errors, increase reproducibility and transparency; delivery of legacy transformation programmes; Quality Deep Dives to review the quality of sets of statistics; development of data quality culture and divisional Quality Champions building capability.

Security, legal and ethical

The risk of an accidental information loss and/or a successful cyber or physical attack resulting in service disruption and/or a data breach or legal non-compliance.

Mitigation includes – a suite of physical, technical, data, information management, people and process security controls, underpinned by the Security and Information Strategy and organisational security framework; risk-based compliance and audit activity to validate the correct build and operation of services and the access that users have to data; a business continuity framework maintaining high level of resilience and; security training and internal awareness campaigns to raise awareness and to reinforce behavioral expectations.

Our people

The risk that the UKSA is unable to attract, develop, retain and deploy individuals with the best analytical and professional skills; we are unable to build a diverse and inclusive pool of talent; we are unable to build a workforce that is agile and adaptable to change; and/or we are unable to enhance the sustainability and wellbeing of our workforce.

Mitigation includes – strategic resourcing framework which includes prioritisation led deployment; skills strategy; inclusion and diversity (I&D) plan including mandatory I&D goals and training, targeted leadership programs; a suite of retention controls including health and wellbeing and; Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) pay framework, all contributing to building an agile, sustainable and diverse workforce.

Our communications

The risk that the UKSA is not open, accessible, coherent and timely, is not seen as transparent, is misunderstood or misused and is unable to respond with agility.

Mitigation includes – proactive communications with stakeholders and the public through the Engagement Hub to build awareness, understanding and acceptance of the ONS’(s) use of data; regular monitoring focused on the accuracy and timeliness of statistical outputs and; contingency plans, social media policy, publishing improvement plan to ensure consistency and reduce the risk of publishing failures, corrections and errors.

Inclusivity in our statistics and analysis

The risk that UKSA’s presentation of society is not inclusive and reflective of all aspects of the UK’s rapidly changing economy, demographics, and policy priorities.

Mitigation includes – addressing the recommendations of the Inclusive Data Taskforce (delivering commitments owned within ONS and monitoring progress of externally owned commitments); providing updates to National Statistician’s Inclusive Data Advisory Committee; establishment of cross-GSS sub-committee on Inclusive Data to support GSS analysis.

Ability to transform and accurately measure population and migration

The risk that the UKSA fails to i) accurately produce its core population and migration statistics offering and/or does not deliver the transformation required for it to be fit for the future and ii) fails to provide a credible evidence base for the acceptance of the 2023 recommendation by Parliament.

Mitigation includes – the creation and implementation of a roadmap for establishing and delivering a robust set of evidence required to support the 2023 Recommendation, publication of the outcomes of the 2023 Recommendation Consultation, delivery of the Future of Population Migration and Social Statistics outline business case, development of a transition plan for embedding research into official Statistics and ensuring the supply of Administrative Data to support the transformation of population and migration statistics.

Public health monitoring, reporting and analysis

The risk that the UKSA is unable to deliver its remit and strategic aims in the health policy space and respond at pace to key health policy questions.

Mitigation includes – development of the Longitudinal COVID-19 study; contract management procedures to ensure delivery of the covid infection survey; delivering the ONS Health Outline Strategy; developing public acceptability of government use of data; developing a broader stakeholder engagement strategy that incorporates collaboration with academia and the emerging public health policy authorities for post 2023; developing an approach to future population health monitoring that provides the agility for future scale up and delivery; and ensuring support from the Analytical Hub to enable agile and flexible responses required to deliver priority outputs.

Data access and usability

The risk that the UKSA does not have or is unable to obtain regular and sustainable access to administrative data (admin and survey) that is useable and of sufficient quality to deliver on its commitments and ambitions including the Integrated Data Service (IDS).

Mitigation includes – supporting the building of the Integrated Data Service to support cross-government sharing of data and efficient access to datasets; the Data Pipeline Service Design project to optimise data acquisition requests and efficiencies in data processes; effective account management of key data stakeholders to ensure relationships are nurtured and; established Data Principles, polices and standards to ensure data integrity and security.

Technological resilience

The risk that the UKSA technology estate (inc. third party suppliers, software, systems, services, and platforms) is unreliable, obsolescent, or no longer supported.

Mitigation includes – an ongoing programme of upgrades and patching across the ONS IT estate to address identified flaws and vulnerabilities in applications and software; delivery of the ONS Digital and Technology Strategy which contains a strategic roadmap that identifies the reduction in reliance on Legacy systems, and migration to Cloud native technologies; continuous improvement of the IT disaster recovery capability; and management of third party contracts.

Data and security management

The overall security of our systems, in particular our key data management environment, the Data Access Platform (DAP), remains vitally important. The security and data assurance of the Integrated Data Service (IDS), a new platform approach for the secure sharing and use of Government data for analysis and research, was a key programme throughout 2022/23. Substantial focused work has supported the launch and operation of a range of beta versions. Transforming the security of DAP and IDS using modern techniques and technology supports the Authority and wider Government transformation of statistics, and our ongoing success in operating these.

Over the last year our security and information management provision has matured and is operating well, as a result of the implementation and operation of the revised Security and Information Strategy – Evolving A Resilient ONS 2021 – 2023. The key objectives continues to provide substantial security measures that protect the organisation and its data – secure ONS business transformation; build stronger internal security understanding and relationships; empower business areas to make more security decisions within an overarching framework of protection; highlight security risk more clearly with appropriate mitigation choices; demonstrate ongoing security assurance and increase maturity through resilience.

Important elements this year have been improvements in security risk management and support for the rollout of new technologies underpinned by public cloud platforms. We now provide UKSA-wide visibility of security risk through the corporate risk register. This enhances our collective understanding of risk and enables focused snapshots to be presented to business areas for increased awareness and management to within the agreed corporate risk appetite. Mitigation plans to reduce risk ensure that the risk owner knows who is actioning a particular mitigation and when this should be completed by. The security approach also utilises new capabilities offered by our cloud partners that ensure services are appropriately protected. We have provisioned dedicated security resources covering all cloud environments alongside a mature service support model to supply security resources to business areas. There is on-going work to advance the ONS cloud assurance approach through a matured third-party supplier assessment. This includes close working with business areas to identify risks through our secure-by-design methodology, provide suitable mitigations and manage these through to maturity in the live operational environment. This provisioning has also included 24 hour, 7 days a week protective monitoring response to assess, alert and respond to anomalous events within our services.

Following the full rollout last year of an office wide, modern Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) that created a single organisation view of business priority outputs and their underpinning technology, substantial effort has been made to maintain the capability within business areas. This year has seen a whole-office refresh of every business area impact assessment, business continuity plan and comprehensive testing to ensure the BCMS remains current and responsive for service resilience.

Our support to the Digital Economy Act continues through the security assessment of potential data processors under Act and Code of Practice. Maintaining high levels of security protection for public data used in research is a key requirement for the Authority. Our experts have assessed organisations for accreditation this year to ensure strong security controls are in place to host and process data, with the Research Accreditation Panel making a determination on the formal accreditation. In addition, several annual assessments have been performed on accredited organisations to ensure that their security environment remains strong, with appropriate improvements being implemented.

Public confidence and support for the provision of data is critical, including the acceptability of legislation such as the Digital Economy Act. We recognise that a data or cyber breach in the management of data could impact this significantly. To support our approach to managing these areas, we have made significant investment in protective technology, monitoring services and vulnerability testing together with staff training and development. This has included extensive engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre and with key Government department security teams. Enhanced security training is now a mandatory requirement for all staff, with substantial effort being put into behavioural security to provide staff with the awareness needed so they play a stronger part in the defence of the Authority.

Information management

With significant levels of confidential data collected and acquired for use in official statistics, information management and confidentiality are critical considerations where people, processes and systems interface with the external world. Staff working in some parts of the Authority have access to a range of business and personal data to produce high quality, accurate statistics. There is a recognised, strong cultural understanding that information must be handled lawfully, accurately and securely, supported by strong legal, technological, and business processes.

Management of the Authority’s documents and records throughout their lifecycle and according to information legislation remains a core activity. Technical enhancements to the corporate document management system has enabled increased collaboration. This has also focused attention on ensuring information is labelled using native automation tooling for heightened monitoring purposes.

The migration of the Information Asset Register to a modern platform has enabled improved metadata collection for the data sources that the Authority continues to acquire as an aid to supporting the Authority’s use of data.

The data protection auditing, and compliance monitoring service continues to report on all activities across the Authority from a data protection perspective, also supporting the work of the Data Protection Officer in providing guidance, training and awareness of data protection requirements.

I am required to report any significant breaches relating to personal data to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). There have been no such incidents during 2022/23.

Developments in the control environment

Maintaining and improving an effective system of internal controls and governance within the Authority remains a key priority. The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to an acceptable level and within our agreed risk appetite, rather than to eliminate all risk. A strong internal control environment facilitates the Authority’s effective and efficient operation. Additionally, an effective system of internal control helps us to ensure the quality of both internal and external reporting. It also serves to ensure compliance with applicable law and regulations, as well as our internal policies.

During 2022/23 we made significant improvements to the internal control environment. These include:

• The continued embedding of the governance framework and structure of the sub-committees below the National Statistician’s Executive Group which places the Strategic Objectives and Strategic Risks at the core of their Terms of Reference to provide robust oversight and challenge.
• Continued maturity in the oversight of organisational Risk and Assurance management, with the release of a Risk and Assurance Framework; an integrated approach to reporting; and assurance over our strategic business plan, objectives, risks and finances.
• A particular focus on risks related to statistical quality, security and data access and usability. In all cases to identify the controls required, ensure they are operating effectively and monitoring key metrics to assure ourselves risks are well managed.
• The creation of qualitative risk appetite statements alongside further enhancements and reporting of risk appetite metrics and assurance maps across the Authority’s priority strategic risk profile.
• An enhanced focus on the investigation of incidents and control failures, as well as addressing assurance gaps identified by undertaking targeted reviews.
• An updated prioritisation framework that includes Strategic Risk mitigation and has been fully embedded in the planning and resource management processes.
• These developments have provided organisational stability to manage the ongoing and changing demands placed upon us. We will continue to focus in this area to maintain the confidence and integrity of our internal control framework.

A revised corporate governance assurance statement (CGAS) was developed to ensure and maintain focus on core areas of internal control, including people; risk; governance; security; statistical quality; portfolio management; commercial and finance management. This provided clearer articulation of questions, expected evidence (including management information (MI)) to inform responses, and validation of responses by subject matter experts. The outcomes of this exercise have broadly confirmed adequacy of the control environment. Nonetheless, an assurance support plan has been created, focusing on the limited areas where improvement is required over the next twelve months.

Assurances from Internal Audit

The Internal Audit function provides the National Statistician and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee with a clearer view on any emerging risks. The internal audit programme is closely linked to the key risks of the Authority. Arrangements are in place to ensure that the National Statistician is made aware of any significant issues which indicate that key risks are not being effectively managed. The Internal Audit service complies with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.

Opinion of the Head of Internal Audit

The role of internal audit is to provide management and ARAC members with an objective assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control, risk management and governance arrangements as part of the Authority’s assurance cycle. We help to inform and update the organisation’s risk profile and are one of the key sources of assurance available to the Accounting Officer, Board and Committee.

My annual opinion recognises the wider control and operating environment within the Authority, the level and extent of change, and the way in which the organisation is managing and responding to its key risks. The opinion I provide reflects the status of the risk, control and governance environment at the date of this report and reflects the evidence available.

I conclude that overall, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has maintained sound systems of governance, internal control and risk management. But there is scope for improvement, and this is reflected in my overall level of assurance which is Moderate.

When formulating my opinion, I have reflected upon results of the Internal Audit programme of reviews, progress by management in implementing agreed actions to address controls gaps, the status of strategic risks, and the outputs of first and second- line assurance providers.

Risk Management

I have recognised the positive assurance of second line functions, in particular Risk Management, where following a number of years of continuous improvement, all strategic risks are now reporting within risk appetite, reflecting improvements in the control framework and in control implementation for each risk. Successful initiatives include identification of Risk & Assurance leads to support active risk management, progress with assurance mapping, and introduction of a new risk management tool. Some gaps across first and second lines remain which we expect to be addressed via the establishment of a cross functional Assurance Group.

Corporate Assurance & Governance

We are pleased to note that no major control weaknesses have been identified via the revised Corporate Governance Assurance Statement (CGAS), or the recently completed fraud risk assessment.

Internal Audit Assurance Programme Results

Turning to our own programme of work, we noted areas of good practice across UKSA from our work on key financial controls and the results of the financial efficiencies programme, which evidenced sound financial controls at both strategic and operational levels. We also recognise good practice in recruitment and onboarding, and the progress made in designing and implementing the Corporate Systems Improvement Programme (CSIP) initiatives.

We note that the majority of programmes reviewed exhibited Moderate assurance, acknowledging the challenging resourcing position. We also recognise continuous improvements in risk management, (described above), alongside the introduction of governance improvements which should embed in FY 23/24.

Notwithstanding this good practice, there are two areas where our work highlights opportunities for improvement:

Firstly, under the Technology / Information Security theme, we raised issues with Legacy Technology, Cyber Security, and Shared Drives. We noted that longstanding issues with legacy technology replacement were addressed more slowly than planned. We recommended improvements to controls covering information assets, and cyber security arrangements. We viewed that lack of management oversight on shared drives left risks outside of appetite.

We are pleased to note that the majority of these issues have either been addressed by management, and/or plans are in place to close more challenging actions which depend on replacing technology assets. These include creating a Legacy Hub to develop and implement the organisational strategy for legacy and automation.

Secondly, under the Programme/Operations risk themes, we raised issues in our reviews of Statistical Quality improvements (RAP), and the ARIES programmes. We viewed that initiatives to improve statistical quality, while well-conceived, lacked capacity and capability to match the organisations’ ambition, while the ARIES programme would benefit from more clarity and communication of programme coverage, benefits, and governance arrangements once funding is established. More generally across the programmes we reviewed, we noted a challenging environment in securing resourcing, in prioritisation, in ensuring timely programme implementation, exacerbated by congestion across the change and operational landscape.

Trend / Direction of Travel

I have reflected on the drivers underpinning the rise in Limited opinion reviews in FY 22/23.

The Authority alongside the rest of government is now operating in a tight fiscal environment. While facing some financial challenges in year, we note that the Authority achieved optimal financial outcomes at year end. However, the pivoting of the organisation from a position of extraordinarily high funding back to a ‘steadier state’ continues to require careful management.

Future budget constraints may result in some business activities being paused, reduced, or stopped, and careful consideration will need to be given by management to any impacts on overall risk profiles. Given this environment, we will review financial efficiency and resource management in the FY 23/24 Audit Programme, as management’s performance in these important control areas could be key mitigations to some of the risks that may come with a tight fiscal environment.

When formulating my Opinion, I have recognised that Management have already taken steps to address any of the issues raised to bring the control framework back in line with good practice, via a concerted effort to address outstanding management actions. Looking ahead, embedding these improvements alongside adapting to the funding environment should be a key focus for FY 23/24.

Resourcing and Performance

During FY 23/24 the Audit Team experienced rapid turnover of staff and leadership, which made delivery challenging. I am pleased to note that the inhouse Team members supported by our co-sourced partners, delivered 100% of planned assignments, and that our customer satisfaction scores remain high throughout. I consulted and informed the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee about all proposed changes to the audit plan to take account of changes in the risk landscape.

Scope and Limitations of the Annual Audit Opinion

There are no limitations on the scope of my opinion.

Opinion of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Based on the work of the Committee during the year and the assurance work carried out by the External and Internal Auditors, it is my opinion that the Authority’s governance and control framework is generally effective.

The Committee accepts the overall moderate opinion from the Head of Internal Audit. The effective management of the year-end position was achieved as a result of the commitment by the Accounting Officer and the Senior Leadership Team to mitigate the financial risk of over-expenditure at year end. The significant development in risk and assurance was underpinned by the executive governance framework which has a critical role in the oversight challenge and cross organisational management of risk.

This is the third year of a moderate opinion from the Head of Internal Audit, which builds upon the successes achieved over the last two years in the three areas below. Despite significant resourcing challenges in key areas such as Internal Audit, Finance and Risk and Assurance, improvements were sustained with continued development this year in the following areas:

1. Strengthening Risk and Oversight Functions
2. Developing the culture of ownership and accountability
3. Strengthening Governance

In the coming year, the Committee will want to see a strengthening in the first line of defence with improvement needed in the management of delegated budgets and commercial capability.

Overall conclusion

In conclusion, the UK Statistics Authority’s approach to governance, risk management and control is generally effective (with systems in place for 2022/23 and up to the point of approval). We have developed our approach across each of these areas during the year and I am pleased that this progress has been reflected in the assurance work that has been delivered through the year.

During 2023/24 we will continue to embed the improvements in our approach and focus on further developing our assurance activities to match the ambitions we have for the organisation and ensure that we keep pace with these activities.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Accounting Officer
07 July 2023

Summary financial information

Key Financial Outturns

The key financial outturns for 2021/22 are shown below:

The Authority has utilised 97% of its Resource funds throughout the year in progressing its strategic and operational objectives. The above figures include both ring-fenced and non-ring-fenced resources. Within this, the Authority utilised

• 99% of its non-ring-fenced Resource funding; and
• 66% of its ring-fenced funding (Depreciation and Amortisation).

Departmental Expenditure Limit – Capital

The Authority has been able to utilise 93% of its Capital funds throughout the year using this funding to continue to transform our IT systems, capitalise research where appropriate in the context of ESA10, and to ensure our estate reflects our hybrid working requirements.

Depreciation and Amortisation

The Authority has robust financial controls in place for asset management and we have been able to plan effectively for the utilisation of our assets. During the year we have continued to review our assets which verified the continued useful economic life.

Annually Managed Expenditure

The Annually Managed Expenditure saving is attributed to a reduction in the level of provisions created during the period compared to that anticipated during the Estimate process.

The Authority had planned to create provisions which did not materialise at year end. These included a potential voluntary exit scheme which was not needed due to a successful redeployment policy and levels of resource staff attrition, unredeemed survey voucher incentives which were of less value than initially anticipated and also contractual disputes not concluded within the year end period. Further details on the movements within Provisions can be found in note 12 of the Accounts chapter.

Included within the resource expenditure are staff costs which are analysed in the staff report. This shows the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) and their costs, which include wages, social security and pension costs. Employees are Civil Servants to whom the conditions of the Superannuation Acts of 1965 and 1972 and subsequent amendments apply.

The Remuneration Report provides further information on the relevant schemes.

To support compliance with IAS24 Related Party Disclosures, all executive directors, non–executive directors and deputy directors are required to complete declarations that they have not entered into agreements or undertaken any material transactions with a related party during the year. Further information is in Note 17 of the accounts.

The accounts of the Authority are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and his Certificate and Report to the House of Commons is presented in the Annual Accounts at 108 to 114 of the pdf.

The financial statements are audited in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) issued by the Accounting Practices Board, and in accordance with the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000.

Audit fees charged in the accounts amount to £129,000 (2021/22 £111,600).

Core tables

The Statistics Board Total departmental spending, 2018/19 to 2023/24

Prompt payment target

The Authority is committed to both the Chartered Institute of Credit Management and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s prompt payment code. The policy sets out that all invoices should be paid in accordance with contractual conditions.

Where no conditions exist, payment will be made within 30 working days of the receipt of goods or services, or the presentation of a valid invoice, whichever is the later. We made payments in accordance with this policy in 92 % of transactions for the year ended 31 March 2023 (93 % in 2021/22). The performance is measured in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines.

In addition to the 30 days target we endeavour to pay small and medium sized enterprises within five days. We achieved payment in accordance with this policy in 82 % of transactions for the year, (85 % in 2021/22) compared to a target of 80 %.

Directors’ report

The requirements of the Directors’ report are covered by the following:

The Statistics Board, operating as The UK Statistics Authority, is a non-ministerial department, operating at arm’s length from Government and reporting directly to Parliament and the devolved legislatures. The Cabinet Office retains residual ministerial responsibilities for the UK Statistics Authority.

The composition of the Authority Board and its sub-committees is set out in the Governance Statement.

The Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority are set out in the Remuneration Report.

The Authority maintains a Register of Interests of its Board members. The Register of Interests is maintained on the UK Statistics Authority website at: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/the-authority-board/

It is updated at least annually. The onus is on individual members of the Authority to determine other interests that should be disclosed and to make known to the Chair and Secretariat any subsequent changes in those interests. At the start of every meeting of the Authority Board, members will be asked to declare any interests in the business on the agenda. Members should similarly make an interest known should it arise during the business of the meeting.

Personal data related incidents are described in the Governance Statement (page 65 of the pdf).

Other disclosures are promulgated by HM Treasury through Public Expenditure System papers.

Financial reporting to Parliament

This report forms part of the annual reporting process to Parliament. Further, and as part of the reporting process the Authority also prepares estimates of its expenditure with the Main Estimate in the early part of the financial year, and the Supplementary Estimate normally published in February. Details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates

Engagement and transparency

The Authority believes that transparency is a key condition and driver for the delivery of our services. As a publicly funded organisation, we have a duty to our stakeholders to be transparent about our business operations and outcome.

To provide transparency across its operations the Authority published information which is regularly updated on its own website and /or the UKSA website.

This includes:

• expenses and hospitality received by board members and senior directors
• organisation charts
• details of senior and junior posts and senior staff salaries
• details of payments to suppliers each month over £25,000
• monthly prompt payment information
• exception reporting

The Authority has a central email enquiry point, authority.enquiries@statistics.gov.uk. Enquiry handling is managed by the Secretariat. There is also a central telephone enquiry line 0845 604 1857.

The Authority operates transparently and openly. It publishes the minutes and papers of its meetings, and correspondence regarding issues of public concern and information about other aspects of its work on its website www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk.

Contractual arrangements

The Authority works across circa. 250 3rd party agreements to deliver its business. All contracts are tiered using a segregation tool that follows Government Commercial Operating Standards (GCOS) best practice and this allows the Authority to determine the level of engagement to successfully deliver the required contractual outcomes.

The contract segregation tool was re-imagined throughout the last year to more closely align to Cabinet Office standard practice. This new approach created at ONS combines two well respected contract management tools, and with Cabinet Office looking to roll it out across government allows more accurate contract management in the areas that provide best value. It categorises contracts into 3 tiers: Gold; Silver; and Bronze, where Gold receives the highest level of input and scrutiny from commercial contract managers, as they are considered key to delivering our operational goals. It also maps to a risk vs complexity matrix so that contract management techniques are applied most effectively.

Supplier performance is reviewed in accordance with Government Procurement Guidelines including monthly reviews to strategically monitor the financial stability of the business, Key Performance Indicators, and to share lessons learned to improve delivery across the whole portfolio.

Social value continues to be key in evaluating 3rd parties and our focus on social value produces contracts that have additional benefits for the local communities they serve. For example, producing a more inclusive and accessible recruitment procedure to improve opportunities for groups in under-represented areas.

Compliance and value is driven throughout the commercial cycle and traditional procurement roles are supported by the Commercial Insights team. Going forward, new roles for commercial business partners allow for new and radical approaches to traditional ONS contractual arrangements and engaging the market will continue to be key in managing supply chain risk through a difficult geo-political period.

Remuneration report

The remuneration report is presented in accordance with Civil Service Employer Pension Notice guidance.

Service contracts

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires Civil Service appointments to be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Recruitment Principles published by the Civil Service Commission specify the circumstances when appointments may be made otherwise.

Unless otherwise stated below, the officials covered by this report hold appointments which are open-ended. Early termination, other than for misconduct, would result in the individual receiving compensation as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Further information about the work of the Civil Service Commission can be found at www.civilservicecommission.org.uk

Remuneration policy

The Remuneration Committee concluded the pay arrangements for the UK Statistics Authority’s Senior Civil Servants. The committee’s membership is set out in the Governance Statement.

The UK Statistics Authority Senior Civil Service (SCS) salary arrangements follow the guidance set out by the Cabinet Office in response to the Senior Salaries Review Body. SCS pay consists of two elements: a consolidated increase to base pay and a non-consolidated bonus payment. Both elements are performance-related and determined by an individual’s performance in the previous appraisal year.

The remuneration for the National Statistician is not agreed by the Authority’s Remuneration Committee but is determined independently.

Remuneration (including salary) and pension entitlements

The following sections provide details of the remuneration and pension interests of the Executive and Non-Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics.

Remuneration of Executive Directors for the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics, 2022/23 and 2021/22 (audited)

Notes to the remuneration tables (Current and previous board members)

Where a member of the Board served for only a part of a year, the full year equivalent (FYE) figure is also shown in brackets.

The value of pension benefits accrued during the year is calculated as (the real increase in pension multiplied by 20) less (the contributions made by the individual). The real increase excludes increases due to inflation or any increase or decrease due to a transfer of pension rights.

Salary

Non-Executive Directors are paid a fee, plus expenses, and have no pension entitlement.

‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private office allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. This report is based on accrued payments made by the Department and thus recorded in these accounts.

Benefits in kind

None of the above received benefits in kind.

Bonus payments

Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process. Bonuses relate to the performance in the previous appraisal year in which they become payable to the individual. The bonuses reported in 2022-23 relate to performance in 2021-22 and the comparative bonuses reported for 2021-22 relate to the performance in 2020-2021.

Remuneration of Non-Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority 2022/23 and 2021/22 (audited)

Fair pay (audited)

Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the highest-paid director in their organisation and the lower quartile, median and upper quartile remuneration of the organisation’s workforce.

The mid-point banded remuneration of the highest-paid director in the Authority in the financial year 2022/23 was £167,500 (2021/22: £182,500). This was 5.27 times (2021/22: 5.91 times) the median remuneration of the workforce, which was £31,811 (2021/22: £30,855).

No employees received remuneration in excess of the highest-paid director in either 2022/23 or 2021/22. The lowest staff remuneration in 2022/23 was £20,148 (2021/22: £18,833).

Percentage change in total salary and bonuses for the highest paid director and the staff average (audited)

The percentage change from previous financial year in respect of the highest paid director is based on the mid-point of their banded total salary and bonus payments. The percentage change in the staff average figures, is calculated as total salary and bonus payments in the period, divided by the FTE number of employees (excluding the highest paid director).

Total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay and benefits-in-kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

The Authority implemented the August 2022 pay award in 2022/23 which increased the average staff remuneration. The increase in ratios between highest paid director and the staff lower/upper and median remuneration categories is attributed in part to the 2022 pay award as well as the highest paid director not receiving a bonus in 2022/23.

Pension benefits (audited)

The following table identifies pension benefits for Executive Directors of the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics.

Details of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme can be found on pages 87-89 of the pdf.

Notes to the pension benefits tables (Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETV))

CETV figures are calculated using the guidance on discount rates for calculating unfunded public service pension contribution rates that was extant at 31 March 2023. HM Treasury published updated guidance on 27 April 2023; this guidance will be used in the calculation of 2023-24 CETV figures.

Civil Service pensions

Pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements. From 1 April 2015 a new pension scheme for civil servants was introduced – the Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme or alpha, which provides benefits on a career average basis with a normal pension age equal to the member’s State Pension Age (or 65 if higher). From that date all newly appointed civil servants and the majority of those already in service joined alpha. Prior to that date, civil servants participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has four sections: 3 providing benefits on a final salary basis (classic, premium or classic plus) with a normal pension age of 60; and one providing benefits on a whole career basis (nuvos) with a normal pension age of 65.

These statutory arrangements are unfunded with the cost of benefits met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable under classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha are increased annually in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Existing members of the PCSPS who were within 10 years of their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 remained in the PCSPS after 1 April 2015. Those who were between 10 years and 13 years and 5 months from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 switch into alpha sometime between 1 June 2015 and 1 February 2022. Because the Government plans to remove discrimination identified by the courts in the way that the 2015 pension reforms were introduced for some members, eligible members with relevant service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 may be entitled to different pension benefits in relation to that period (and this may affect the Cash Equivalent Transfer Values shown in this report – see below). All members who switch to alpha have their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their final salary when they leave alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes.) Members joining from October 2002 may opt for either the appropriate defined benefit arrangement or a defined contribution (money purchase) pension with an employer contribution (partnership pension account).

Employee contributions are salary-related and range between 4.6% and 8.05% for members of classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha. Benefits in classic accrue at the rate of 1/80th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. In addition, a lump sum equivalent to three years initial pension is payable on retirement. For premium, benefits accrue at the rate of 1/60th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. Unlike classic, there is no automatic lump sum. classic plus is essentially a hybrid with benefits for service before 1 October 2002 calculated broadly as per classic and benefits for service from October 2002 worked out as in premium. In nuvos a member builds up a pension based on their pensionable earnings during their period of scheme membership. At the end of the scheme year (31 March) the member’s earned pension account is credited with 2.3% of their pensionable earnings in that scheme year and the accrued pension is uprated in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Benefits in alpha build up in a similar way to nuvos, except that the accrual rate in 2.32%. In all cases members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004.

The partnership pension account is an occupational defined contribution pension arrangement which is part of the Legal & General Mastertrust. The employer makes a basic contribution of between 8% and 14.75% (depending on the age of the member). The employee does not have to contribute, but where they do make contributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (in addition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5% of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally-provided risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement).

The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are already at or over pension age. Pension age is 60 for members of classic, premium and classic plus, 65 for members of nuvos, and the higher of 65 or State Pension Age for members of alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes, but note that part of that pension may be payable from different ages.)

Further details about the Civil Service pension arrangements can be found at the website www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Cash equivalent transfer values

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. The figures include the value of any pension benefit in another scheme or arrangement which the member has transferred to the Civil Service pension arrangements. They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their buying additional pension benefits at their own cost. CETVs are worked out in accordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction to benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax which may be due when pension benefits are taken.

Real increase in CETV

This reflects the increase in CETV that is funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period.

Board member and senior official off-payroll engagements

The following table identifies off-payroll engagements of board members, and/or, Senior officials with significant financial responsibility, between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Other information

Compensation for loss of office (audited)

No Director received compensation for loss of office during 2022/23.

Payments to past directors (audited)

No payments were made to past directors other than in respect of employment or other contractual service for the company other than as a director.

Staff report

Staffing structure

Staff numbers (audited)

Staff costs (audited)

Capitalised staff costs (audited)

Staff numbers as at 31 March 2023 (audited)

Staff loaned as at 31 March 2023

Staff hosted as at 31 March 2023

Staff turnover

Contingent workers as at 31 March 2023

Staff composition as at 31 March 2023

Number of Senior Civil Service staff by SCS pay band (average for the year)

Off payroll engagements

The following table identifies all off-payroll engagements as at 31 March 2023 for more than £245 per day for a period longer than six months.

The following table details the total number of off-payroll engagements in excess of £245 per day for a period longer than six months (between the 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023).

Sickness absence

Average working days lost during 2022/23 is 6.9 (2021/22 was 5.6).

Reporting compensations for employee departures (audited)

During the financial year 2022/23 we ran a targeted Voluntary Exit Scheme which resulted in 13 applicants accepting offers of exit.

All offers were accepted in July 2022, therefore costs will be attributed to financial year 2022/23. The last day of service for leavers was 31 October 2022.

Redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provision of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme under the Superannuation Act 1972. Exit costs are accounted for in full for the year of departure. Where the department has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the department and not the Civil Service pension scheme.

Ill-health retirement costs are met by the Pension Scheme and are not included in the table.

Employee matters

Employment, training and support for people with disabilities

The Authority is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. As part of this commitment, the Authority gives full and fair consideration to the employment, training, support and progression of colleagues with a disability.

The Authority applies the Recruitment Principles of the Civil Service Commission, appointing candidates on merit through fair and open competition.

Recruitment and selection training is provided to all interviewers. The Authority has achieved the highest-level accreditation Level 3 Disability Confident Leader status and offers an interview to all those who declare a disability and meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Authority’s policies require that managers must consider and make workplace adjustments to enable an employee with a disability to attend work and carry out their role effectively. Such adjustments are recorded on a Workplace Adjustments Passport and are kept under regular review. There is an active Disability Network, supported by senior champions, focused on removing any barriers within the workplace, and celebrating key disability awareness days throughout the year across the organisation.

The Authority promotes several cross-government talent schemes that seek to attract colleagues with disabilities, as well as those from other underrepresented groups. These include the Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) and Senior Leaders Scheme (SLS). The bespoke Disability Empowers Leadership Talent scheme, also known as DELTA, is available to anyone with a disability or long-term health condition who gains a place on the cross-government FLS. As part of our Diversity into Leadership programme, we also offer a specific development route called disABILITY into Leadership, focused on supporting the career development of colleagues with disabilities.  In addition, our learning offer supports working with those who are neurodivergent. Our learning interventions meet all legal requirement accessibility requirements.

Monitoring spending on consultancy and temporary staff

Professional services external resources can generally be split into two broad categories. Temporary staff includes temporary workers and specialist contractors who are used to cover business-as-usual or service delivery activities within the Authority. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of the Authority and may include the identification of options with recommendations.

Expenditure on consultancy increased from £10.3m in 2021-22 to £16.5m in 2022-23 and expenditure on contractors decreased from £36.1m in 2021-22 to £18.5m in 2022-23. Further information can be found in Note 4 to the accounts.

Spend on consultancy and the need for temporary staff is largely dependent on the nature of projects being undertaken and the expertise required. The beginning of 2021-22 saw an increase to Census Field activities following Census Day on 21 March 2021. The lack of demand on this type of role was the primary contributor to a decrease in temporary staff costs this year as disclosed in Note 3 to the accounts.

Workplace health, safety and welfare

All activities required under the Health and Safety (H&S) framework of governance, risk management and control for the Authority were completed during this period. This ensures workplace H&S performance is audited and reviewed on an annual basis and reported to the Departmental H&S Committee and the People Committee. The Authority has published an up-to-date H&S Policy, which has been amended as necessary to ensure it remains current with legislation and takes account of organisational changes. All necessary risk assessments, inspections, maintenance, cleaning and testing regimes were in place.

During this period, the Authority has introduced new H&S management arrangements to support hybrid working with a new digital display screen assessment and training tool, and new fire evacuation arrangements deployed at its premises.

We approach wellbeing as an underlying priority that wraps around our People Survey and engagement activity, and our wider management approach. The 2022 People Survey saw positive responses to all wellbeing-related questions maintained for another year. Our overall Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning and Accomplishment (PERMA) score, a holistic measure of positive wellbeing, remained high at 73%.

Our wellbeing offer is wide-ranging and dynamic across the organisation. In 2023 our Wellbeing activities will be shaped by our new Wellbeing Plan, which outlines our strategic approach to Wellbeing, based on the principles of being proactive, empowering and flexible, with a focus on five wellbeing pillars: Workplace, Mental, Physical, Social, and Financial.

Equality, diversity and inclusion overview

Our strategic purpose is to create ‘Statistics for the Public Good’, and to deliver effectively it is vital that we continue to build a working environment in which equality and inclusion are instinctive; with a workforce that reflects the public it serves.

Compliance with the Equality Act 2010 remains a core tenet, as we align policies, processes, and infrastructure to its principles. Our Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) play a key role in helping us ensure that inclusion is hardwired into all our practices. Further information on our commitment to the Public Sector Equality Duty is available on the Authority’s website.

‘Inclusion’ is also a central pillar of our People Plan, which is reflected in our Strategy and Strategic Business Plan. Our ambition is to drive an inclusive culture in which everyone feels valued, that they belong, and have an equal opportunity to contribute to the organisation’s purpose.

Our more detailed Inclusion Plan outlines our intention to:

• build a coordinated approach to Inclusion and Diversity across the organisation.
• hardwire Inclusion and Diversity into everything we do.
• build representation of underrepresented groups and support their career progression.
• continue to build the Authority’s reputation as an inclusive employer.
• improve and develop our evidence base.

This plan was launched in November 2020, and we have made significant progress to date; notably in the development of our evidence base, strengthening our governance and coordination, and being recognised for our practices by external benchmarking experts. More information about recognition in this space can be found within the benchmarking and collaborating section below.

Equality, diversity and inclusion infrastructure

Governance

Our Inclusion & Diversity Steering Group (IDSG) leads on evaluating new initiatives, and progress against existing commitments and issues. The Group consists of colleagues from across our employee diversity networks and other key stakeholders. IDSG reports to our People Committee (PC), the governance body responsible for people matters, and over the past year, the relationship between IDSG and PC has been further strengthened. PC is attended by key senior leaders, chaired by our Second Permanent Secretary, and includes non-executive colleagues to represent diverse viewpoints from across the organisation.

Diversity networks

Our employee diversity networks continue to add essential value and insight to our inclusion agenda and play a key role in supporting the organisation to improve our processes and policies. Each recognised diversity network is led by a team of colleagues who volunteer their time to undertake dedicated roles, and a sponsor from the senior leadership cadre. To ensure our colleagues have the capacity and support to undertake network activities, leading network members can dedicate up to 10% of their working time to the completion of their network role. The networks also play an active role in raising awareness and creating a learning environment around inclusion. This includes expert guest panels, sharing blogs on lived experience, identifying and sharing best practice, organising recognition for key calendar events and linking with other government departments’ networks.

Benchmarking and collaborating

In line with the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2022-2025) guidance, the Authority continues to identify opportunities to engage with independent, external organisations. This helps us to ensure that our policies and practices are robust and in line with leading industry standards by participating in objective benchmarking exercises and benefitting from expert support and advice.

The Authority maintained its Gold Award in the MIND Workplace Wellbeing Index 2022, as well as being recognised in Glassdoor’s annual Employee Choice Awards as one of the UK’s Top 50 Best Places to Work. The Authority have also ranked number one in Glassdoor’s highest ranking UK companies for Work-Life balance for the second year in a row in 2022, with our CEO receiving a 96% approval rating. We also hold Leader status through the Disability Confident scheme. Further recognition throughout the year includes being awarded Highly Commended in the Commissioners’ Mark of Excellence in the category of Excellence in Monitoring Outcomes, for our work on inclusive recruitment practices, as well as being rated as ‘mature’ across all four pillars of the Smarter Working Maturity Assessment: Culture and People, Leadership, Workspace and Technology. Most recently the Authority won the overarching ‘Beyond Smarter Working’ award at Smarter Working Live, a cross public sector event. Of particular recognition was the actions on wellbeing, the office environment, hybrid working, enhanced tech support and leadership.

We continue to identify opportunities for more collaboration and shared initiatives with the Cabinet Office and other government departments, and to work with other expert organisations such as Business in the Community to improve our inclusive practices.

Measuring progress

Workforce diversity data is monitored at both business and organisational level, with progress measured on a regular basis via an interactive dashboard. Declaration rates are steadily increasing, and colleagues are continuously encouraged to contribute information to support a stronger evidence base that drives our interventions.

In addition to our workforce demographic data, progress is measured through a combination of sources including new people dashboards, insights from our employee diversity networks, listening groups, internal targeted pulse surveys and the annual Civil Service People Survey. Of particular note is our Inclusion, Culture and Wellbeing Dashboard which was launched in 2022, and is utilised to measure progress and hold senior leaders accountable for their data.

The People Survey provides an overall score for Inclusion and Fair Treatment, for which the Authority has maintained a high score of 85% in 2022.

With the publication of the revised Civil Service Inclusion & Diversity strategy, we continue to closely align our approach to measuring and evaluating our success with the wider Civil Service set of standards.

Workforce diversity data and progress against targets as at 31 March 2023

Whilst all employees in the Authority are strongly encouraged to make a positive declaration within each of these diversity measures there is no obligation to do so. The percentage of employees who have declared is 87.8%. The following data is collated from those who have made a declaration.

The Authority has a long-term ambition to be representative of the society we serve. We have set a headline workforce representation target to increase ethnic minority representation by 1 percentage point a year, with an ambition to reach 11% by 2025. The annual target for the workforce overall has not been achieved for March 2023, although targets around the diversity of our new starters have. This reflects our efforts to increase the diversity of the applicant base for our vacancies and to minimise any bias within our recruitment and selection processes, which continues to be a priority focus to ensure positive progress continues. We are proud to have achieved Gender parity at Grade 6, with a 50% split with rounding (49.6% and 50.4%) across female and male. This now means we have at least 50% female representation at our feeder grades to SCS as well as across our managerial and administrative grades.

Trade union facility time

Organisations are required to publish trade union facility time data. Trade union facility time is a legal entitlement and is allocated by the Authority. Total time spent on union activities should equate to no more than 0.1% of the total pay bill and no-one should spend more than 50% of their time on such activities.

The total number of employees who were trade union representatives during the year was 53.

The cost to the Authority of trade union facility time represents 0.04% of the pay bill of £274,490,000 (2021/22 0.03% of the pay bill £310,285,000).

Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours is 0%.

Parliamentary accountability report

Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply

In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) requires the Authority to prepare a Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply (SOPS) and supporting notes.

The SOPS and related notes are subject to audit, as detailed in the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons.

The SOPS is a key accountability statement that shows, in detail, how an entity has spent against their Supply Estimate. Supply is the monetary provision (for resource and capital purposes) and cash (drawn primarily from the Consolidated fund), that Parliament gives statutory authority for entities to utilise. The Estimate details supply and is voted on by Parliament at the start of the financial year.

Should an entity exceed the limits set by their Supply Estimate, called control limits, their accounts will receive a qualified opinion.

The format of the SOPS mirrors the Supply Estimates, published on gov.uk, to enable comparability between what Parliament approves and the final outturn.

The SOPS contain a summary table, detailing performance against the control limits that Parliament have voted on, cash spent (budgets are compiled on an accruals basis and so outturn won’t exactly tie to cash spent) and administration.

The supporting notes detail the following: Outturn by Estimate line, providing a more detailed breakdown (note 1); a reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure in the SOCNE, to tie the SOPS to the financial statements (note 2); a reconciliation of outturn to net cash requirement (note 3); and, an analysis of income payable to the Consolidated Fund (note 4).

The SOPS and Estimates are compiled against the budgeting framework, which is similar to, but different to, IFRS. An understanding of the budgeting framework and an explanation of key terms is provided in the financial review section of the performance report. Further information on the Public Spending Framework and the 6 reasons why budgeting rules are different to IFRS can also be found in chapter 1 of the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, available on gov.uk.

The SOPS provides a detailed view of financial performance, in a form that is voted on and recognised by Parliament. The financial review, in the Performance Report, provides a summarised discussion of outturn against estimate and functions as an introduction to the SOPS disclosures.

Summary tables (audited)

Summary table 2022-23, all figures presented in £000’s.

Net Cash Requirement 2022/23 (audited)

All figures presented in £000’s.

Notes to the parliamentary supply, 2023/23
(£000’s)(audited)

SOPS 1 – Outturn detail by estimate Line

For the period ending 31 March 2023. All figures presented in £000’s.

SOPS 1.1 Analysis of resource outturn by estimate line.

SOPS 1.2 Analysis of capital outturn by estimate line.

All figures presented in £000’s.

SOPS 2 – Reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure.

All figures presented in £000’s.

SOPS 3 – Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net cash requirement.

For the period ending 31 March 2022. All figures presented in £000’s.

SoPS 4 Amounts of income to the consolidated fund

SoPS 4.1 Analysis of income payable to the consolidated fund

There is no income payable to the consolidated fund.

SoPS 4.2 Consolidated fund income

The authority does not collect income as an agent of the consolidated fund.

Parliamentary Accountability Disclosure (audited)

Special payment and losses

For the period ending 31 March 2023

There are no individual cases of special payments or losses over £300,000 (2021/22: No cases) which need separate disclosure as required by Managing Public Money.

Fees and charges

The Authority is not subject to statutory fees and charges.

Remote contingent liabilities

None identified.

Disclosure of information to the auditors

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer include confirming that as far as he is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware and that he has taken steps he ought to have taken to make himself aware of any relevant audit information, and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Accounting Officer
7 July 2023

The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons

Opinion on financial statements

I certify that I have audited the financial statements of the Statistics Board (referred to as the UK Statistics Authority) for the year ended 31 March 2023 under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. The financial statements comprise: the UK Statistics Authority’s

• Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2023;
• Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure, Statement of Cash Flows and Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity for the year then ended; and
• the related notes including the significant accounting policies.

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the financial statements is applicable law and UK adopted international accounting standards.

In my opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the UK Statistics Authority’s affairs as at 31 March 2023 and its net expenditure for the year then ended; and
• have been properly prepared in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 and HM Treasury directions issued thereunder.

Opinion on regularity

In my opinion, in all material respects:

• the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals for the year ended 31 March 2023 and shows that those totals have not been exceeded; and
• the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

Basis for opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs UK), applicable law and Practice Note 10 Audit of Financial Statements and Regularity of Public Sector Bodies in the United Kingdom (2022). My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate.

Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2019. I am independent of the UK Statistics Authority in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit of the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, I have concluded that the UK Statistics Authority’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work I have performed, I have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the UK Statistics Authority’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

My responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this certificate.

The going concern basis of accounting for the UK Statistics Authority is adopted in consideration of the requirements set out in HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual, which requires entities to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements where it is anticipated that the services which they provide will continue into the future.

Other information

The other information comprises information included in the Annual Report, but does not include the financial statements and my auditor’s certificate and report thereon. The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information.

My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in my certificate, I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

My responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If I identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, I am required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact.

I have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters

In my opinion the part of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions made under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

In my opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit have been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions made under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000;
• the information given in the Performance and Accountability Reports for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements and is in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which I report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the UK Statistics Authority and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified material misstatements in the Performance and Accountability Reports.

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

• Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the UK Statistics Authority or returns adequate for my audit have not been received from branches not visited by my staff; or
• I have not received all of the information and explanations I require for my audit; or
• the financial statements and the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
• certain disclosures of remuneration specified by HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual have not been made or parts of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited is not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
• the Governance Statement does not reflect compliance with HM Treasury’s guidance.

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the Accounting Officer is responsible for:

• maintaining proper accounting records;
• providing the C&AG with access to all information of which management is aware that is relevant to the preparation of the financial statements such as records, documentation and other matters;
• providing the C&AG with additional information and explanations needed for his audit;
• providing the C&AG with unrestricted access to persons within the UK Statistics Authority from whom the auditor determines it necessary to obtain audit evidence;
• ensuring such internal controls are in place as deemed necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements to be free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error;
• ensuring that the financial statements give a true and fair view and are prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions made under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000;
• ensuring that the annual report, which includes the Remuneration and Staff Report, is prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions made under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000; and
• assessing the UK Statistics Authority’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Accounting Officer anticipates that the services provided by the UK Statistics Authority will not continue to be provided in the future.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

My responsibility is to audit, certify and report on the financial statements in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a certificate that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud
I design procedures in line with my responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud. The extent to which my procedures are capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud is detailed below.

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, I:

• considered the nature of the sector, control environment and operational performance including the design of the UK Statistics Authority’s accounting policies, key performance indicators and performance incentives.
• inquired of management, the UK Statistics Authority’s internal auditors and those charged with governance, including obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation relating to the UK Statistics Authority ’s policies and procedures on:
  • identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations;
  • detecting and responding to the risks of fraud; and
  • the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations including the UK Statistics Authority’s controls relating to the UK Statistics Authority’s compliance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money and the Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act 2022.
• inquired of management, the UK Statistics Authority’s internal auditors and those charged with governance whether:
  • they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;
  • they had knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud,
• discussed with the engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.

As a result of these procedures, I considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the UK Statistics Authority for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: revenue recognition, posting of unusual journals, complex transactions and bias in management estimates. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), I am required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override of controls.

I obtained an understanding of the UK Statistics Authority’s framework of authority and other legal and regulatory frameworks in which the UK Statistics Authority operates. I focused on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the UK Statistics Authority. The key laws and regulations I considered in this context included Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money, Supply, Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act 2022 and employment law.

Audit response to identified risk

To respond to the identified risks resulting from the above procedures:

• I reviewed the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described above as having direct effect on the financial statements;
• I enquired of management and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
• I reviewed minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and the Board; and internal audit reports;
• in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, I tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessed whether the judgements on estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluated the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business; and
• I inspected transactions in the period prior to and following 31 March 2023 to verify revenue had been recognised in the correct accounting period.

I also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential risks of fraud to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of my certificate.

Other auditor’s responsibilities

I am required to obtain appropriate evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals and that those totals have not been exceeded. The voted Parliamentary control totals are Departmental Expenditure Limits (Resource and Capital), Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource and Capital), Non-Budget (Resource) and Net Cash Requirement.

I am required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control I identify during my audit.

Report

I have no observations to make on these financial statements.

Gareth Davies
Comptroller and Auditor General
07 July 2023
National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London
SW1W 9SP