Accountability

Recommendation 15: Relationship with Parliament and devolved legislatures

The Authority is committed to continued engagement with Parliamentarians and Select Committees and continues to contribute proactively to these. The Authority’s Parliamentary Unit provides evidence to Select Committees regularly, encompassing the full span of the Authority’s remit in producing, safeguarding and regulating statistics for the public good.

To increase the exposure of Select Committees to data and analysis produced by the ONS, the Authority’s Parliamentary Unit identifies key releases for the month ahead that may be of interest to specific Committees, aligned with their portfolios. With the launch of the ‘Explore Local Statistics’ portal the ONS has improved its available online tools to make data more easily available at parliamentary constituency level, a common topic of interest in Parliamentary Questions.

OSR, in its remit as the regulatory arm of the Authority, is regularly called to give evidence at a range of Committees, advising on the quality of data pertaining to Committee inquiries and helping to identify data gaps for Parliamentary scrutiny.

The Authority has in the past had less opportunity for parliamentary engagement with the devolved legislatures, and intends to undertake more such outreach. Noting the Review’s suggestions about making the most of the Board’s meetings in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Authority will explore opportunities to combine Board meetings with occasions for engagement with devolved parliamentarians. As recognised in the Authority’s Code of Practice, statistics are part of the lifeblood of democratic debate. We all benefit from the championing by parliamentarians of the good use of statistics in their work as well as the relevance of statistics to parliamentarians’ interests.

Recommendations 16 and 17: Relationship with Cabinet Office

The staffing and resourcing of the Authority’s sponsor team is a matter for the Cabinet Office but the Authority would welcome any increase in resources that it could be given.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the sponsorship arrangements between the Authority and the Cabinet Office was signed in 2020. It is consistent with HM Treasury’s guidance and the provisions of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 regarding the Authority’s status as an independent statutory body operating at arm’s length from government and reporting directly to Parliament.

The offices of the Chair and the National Statistician will work with the Authority’s sponsorship team in the Cabinet Office to review the MoU and ensure it remains fit for purpose, with any changes to be approved by the Board.