Members
Secretariat
Other attendees
1. Minutes and matters arising from the previous meeting
- The Chair greeted all members to the meeting.
- This is the last meeting for Stephen Balchin, as Committee member. The Chair thanked Stephen for his valuable contribution to NSDEC, and particularly his role in bridging technical discussions with policy relevance.
- Minutes from the 7 September 2025 meeting were approved, except for item 3 which remains under review due to amendments. An updated version is to be circulated for approval with formal sign-off at the next meeting.
2. Terms of Reference review (NSDEC(25)41)
- Wilfred Thorne presented this item, noting that the Terms of Reference were last updated in 2023.
- Key updates include the inclusion of the mandatory annual self-review of effectiveness and the formalised confidentiality undertaking. Discussion focused on the consistency of membership terminology (expert, lay and government) and it was noted that the recruitment of lay members is planned for Spring 2026.
- It was confirmed that all current members have signed and returned the confidentiality agreement.
Action:
Secretariat to amend wording of the Terms of Reference to ensure consistent terminology is used throughout.
3. Annual Self-Review of Effectiveness (NSDEC(25)42)
- Findings from the first Annual Self-Review of Effectiveness were presented by Eloise Ball, recognising that many members of the Committee are new, but that the 2025 results will be used as a baseline for future iterations.
- Positive themes included clear roles and governance, an inclusive Chair and timely documentation. Areas for improvement focused on membership gaps, uncertainty around the Digital Economy Act project accreditation process, and paper pack quality.
- The Chair confirmed that she has extended her tenure for a further year to support with minimising membership gaps, alongside the planned 2026 lay member recruitment. The Secretariat will seek to develop upskilling sessions or resources on project accreditation and standardise paper packs.
- Members raised further suggestions of onboarding notes from the Chair to ensure alignment and transparency on the Committee’s direction, and an annual in-person strategic workshop to support cohesion across members.
- The new Confluence platform for correspondence reviews was praised for its ability to encourage discussion and provide visibility on member’s comments, despite initial teething issues with roll-out.
Action:
CADE to work alongside OSR colleagues in promotion of the Code of Practice for Statistics and ethical consideration alongside this.
Action:
NSDEC Secretariat to consider arrangements for an annual strategic workshop.
4. GSS Harmonisation: Ethnicity Harmonisation consultation (NSDEC(25)43)
- Joy Preece and Alice Toms presented on the current Ethnicity Harmonisation consultation that is live until 4 February 2026, part of the broader review of the harmonisation standard. The consultation focuses on additional tick-box response options for ethnicity questions to maintain comparability with previous censuses.
- Discussion centred around communication and engagement of the consultation and the analysis and processing of the results once concluded. The research team requested input on ensuring good representation across devolved nations and the navigation of launching the consultation simultaneously with the Census topic consultation.
- The Harmonisation team assured the Committee that they are well connected with devolved governments and have engaged with all four nations via advisory groups and online webinars where they have had representation from a variety of community groups. For nations where representation is low, they will conduct work with the devolved teams to boost participation.
- Post consultation, a further round of cognitive testing will be conducted to ensure clarity and results published once concluded for transparency. Post-publication, additional public engagement activities will be conducted, targeted towards ethnic groups that are defined to be priority groups. This could be via public webinar events or small scope round tables to explain the rationale behind decisions and how conclusions were reached.
- The Harmonisation team were invited back to a future meeting (approx. Spring 2026) to share lessons learned. The Committee commended the team’s clarity and ethical rigor, suggesting this could be documented as a best practice case-study of both ethical consideration and of positive engagement with NSDEC.
Action:
Secretariat to facilitate the Harmonisation team returning to NSDEC meeting next year, and to consider compiling a best practice case study.
5. Research Accreditation Criteria Review update
- Daniel Beck presented for this item providing an update on the Accreditation Criteria which is under review for the first time since 2018.
- An engagement exercise and focus group for the review have been held. Further engagement is planned for January 2026, prior to a consultation later in the year. As part of the review, ethical standards remain integral.
- As part of the Authority’s work with ADR UK, a new unified application form will integrate ethics questions into the project application to streamline the process. The Committee observed that whilst the redesigned form will bring about efficiencies, it is important not to lose the reflective element for ethical considerations that was provoked by the existing self-assessment form.
- It was noted that although the planned consultation on the criteria will not be promoted publicly, due to the likelihood of minimal interest, responses from the public would be considered if received. Members also recommended to ensure representation from all devolved nations in focus groups, particularly stakeholders in Northern Ireland.
6. Any other business
- The proposal for an annual in-person strategic workshop was supported, possibly in Autumn 2026.
- The September 2026 meeting date is to be reconsidered, due to clashing commitments.
- The next meeting will be Tuesday 3rd March 2026.