Members were welcomed to the meeting. Apologies were received from Sarah Cumbers. The minutes of the meeting on 28 July were approved.
Guy Nason and James Brooks provided an update on the salary ranges utilised in the private sector to recruit statisticians and analysts. Action 04/25 was closed.
2. Discussion with User: Professor Alissa Goodman
Professor Alissa Goodman provided an update on the Generation New Era study; a birth cohort study commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council. The followings key points were made:
the study would utilise an ‘opt-out’ approach when selecting its sample and, in the context of declining response rates globally, members discussed the benefits of this. It was noted that there would be a high level of attrition throughout the life of the study, although this would be offset by incentivisation.
Members also discussed approaches to boosting samples for specific characteristics or geographies to ensure surveys would capture responses from hard to reach, or seldom heard groups.
3. Reflection and clarity on the purpose of NSEUAC [NSEUAC(25)07]
June Bowman and Neil Townsend presented an update on the work underway since the Statistics Assembly and facilitated a discussion on the purpose of the committee. The following key points were made:
members reflected on how beneficial they had found the insights offered by the committee’s series of guest speakers, who had provided their various perspectives as users of government statistics, however it was not always clear how that learning was transferred to statistics producers;
the committee would be able to offer further value to the issues and proposals presented in papers if they were tabled earlier in their development;
it would be important for the committee to maintain its focus on the response to the UK Statistics Assembly and inform any future significant user engagement events;
members discussed whether it would be beneficial for the committee to identify specific themes where it would be able to offer most value across the system, informed by advice from the National Statistician; and
it was agreed that the March meeting would be used to facilitate a joint horizon scanning session between members of the committee and chairs of the other advisory committees to the National Statistician.
