Next Meeting: 22 September 2025

Members present

• Dame Kate Barker (Chair)
• Professor Paul Boyle
• James Brooks
• Professor Paul Allin
• Helen Boaden
• Dr Sarah Cumbers
• Ed Humpherson
• Phyllis MacFarlane
• Sarah Moore
• Guy Nason
• Emma Rourke

Additional attendees

• June Bowman
• Grant Fitzner (for item 3)
• Nicola Fulton (for item 4)
• Yente Meijers (Shadowing Ed Humpherson)
• Esther Taylor (for item 5)
• Neil Townsend (for item 4)

Secretariat

• Kate Beeslee
• Kerri Gourley

Apologies

• Eva Aizpurua

1. Minutes and matters arising

1. Members were welcomed to the meeting. Apologies were received from Eva Aizpurua. The minutes of the meeting on 10 February were approved and actions were updated. The Chair asked that due dates for action are specified in future.
2. Members each gave a short introduction about themselves and on action 05/24 Prof. Paul Allin highlighted that he was looking to bring together a group of stakeholders with an interest in homelessness through work with Shelter UK. He wanted to ensure work was not duplicated so would be keen for an update on the work ONS was undertaking.

2. Introduction from the new National Statistician’s Expert User Advisory Committee (NSEUAC) Chair (oral update)

1. Dame Kate Barker introduced herself as the new NSEUAC Chair and invited Acting National Statistician Emma Rourke to discuss how the committee would be most useful. The following key points were made:
   1. The National Statistician role was being separated into two roles and the implications for the organisation in terms of responsibilities were being worked through. It was also noted that the new Director General (DG) for the Economic, Social and Environmental Group (ESEG) would be starting shortly;
   2. members discussed how NSEUAC should interact with the ONS as the organisation was going through a period of prioritisation and it would be important for NSEUAC to be involved to help the prioritisation process;
   3. there were fundamental questions around Census 2031 which would need to be answered; and
   4. it would be important for NSUEAC members to be trusted partners for the organisation but also ensure they represented the experiences of users of statistics and provided constructive challenge.

3. Economic Statistics and Survey Plans [NSEUAC(25)03]

1. Grant Fitzner presented an update on the progress of the Economic Statistics (ESP) plan and Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan post Devereux Review. The following key points were made:
   1. more statisticians were required within the organisation and the medium to long term goal of the organisation would be to get the skills balance correct;
   2. on the short-term deployment challenge a workshop had taken place assessing the feasibility and deliverability of the ESP
   3. when the new ESEG DG started decisions on governance would be made including more engagement with senior stakeholders;
   4. skills breakdown by location was discussed;
   5. ONS office locations and disparity in pay between ONS and other Government Departments had caused recruitment challenges. However, recently the Manchester site had been successful in recruiting methodologists so the organisation was looking to build on this;
   6. following the Bernanke review in 2024 it was highlighted that the Bank of England was also looking to recruit in similar areas to the ONS;
   7. Government apprentices in Economic Statistics had been a good way of attracting good quality candidates;
   8. it would be important have a sustainable level of staffing to ensure that the organisation had the resource to address arising issues;
   9. culture and what tangible things had been done to improve culture within the organisation. It was noted that there were not any specifics in the plan on training related to cultural change and it was clear a broader cultural change plan would be required;
   10. there had been an ongoing process where staff were asked to speak about their experiences and this had highlighted the variety of experiences within the organisation;
   11. as leadership was integral to driving cultural change Senior Civil Servants should be the immediate focus and it was highlighted that having committees with external membership would help to open up culture;
   12. the use of technology was also discussed and what it can do to help engagement;
   13. it would be important to ensure that there was a reasonable level of consultation on decision making and would be helpful to see a diagram of the various ESEG advisory panels and where NSEUAC sits within this as this would help NSEUAC to be clear on its remit; and
   14. as recruitment was a challenge across the statistical system members agreed it would be useful if a small group of committee members could supply evidence on recruitment approaches within other organisations.

4. User Engagement Strategy [NSEUAC(25)04]

1. Sarah Moore introduced a paper on the early plans for the User Engagement Strategy Refresh. This had been recommended in the Lievesley Review that the ONS needed to increase User Engagement. The following key points were made:
   1. work had been ongoing across the Government Statistical Service and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) related to best practice around user engagement;
   2. initial findings were that users wanted to be engaged early as this was integral to dealing with issues early and gaining a rapport with users;
   3. making engagement with the ONS easier would be crucial ensuring the organisation was accessible to the public;
   4. members questioned what success looked like to enable the ONS to assess how successful the strategy had been;
   5. it was highlighted the strategy needed to be more specific highlighting how levels and means of engagement were changing. The strategy should outline things that are being done differently;
   6. although the UK Statistics Assembly was successful there were notably few people attending from the business community. The ONS conducted a large number of business surveys and it would be advantageous to get feedback on how these processes could be simplified;
   7. members would be keen to see a more holistic approach to user engagement with greater engagement with the business community as this would assist with building business survey response rates;
   8. OSR had conducted a small-scale piece of research on users of statistics which would be helpful to bring to a future committee as it would link to barriers to trust and improve transparency. It would also be useful to have a further item on Business Engagement come to the committee;
   9. it was noted that this was the first stage of the strategy and the next step would be convening a delivery group or roundtable to get a realistic understanding of what users want;
   10. members agreed it would be helpful for the User Engagement Strategy to return to NSEUAC with specific next steps;
   11. the Assembly was a good starting point for user engagement however it would be important to outline how the event would be carried forward to get the correct users in the room giving expertise on specific issues; and
   12. it would be important to get users feedback on outputs the ONS was planning to stop to ensure decisions were well-founded.

5. Future of Population and Migration Statistics [NSEUAC(25)05]

1. Esther Taylor introduced a paper on the Future of Population and Migration Statistics following the recommendation to the UK Government and the subsequent response from the UK Government commissioning a mandatory, questionnaire-based census of England and Wales. The following key points were made:
   1. members welcomed the news that a Census in 2031 would be held as there was a view among some members that Administrative Data was not developed enough to provide all the outputs currently required. The role of the UK Statistics Assembly in influencing the Census decision was acknowledged;
   2. there had been ongoing engagement (including the 2023 consultation and UK Statistics Assembly) which would continue as a key part of the Census timetable. The 2025 topic consultation was due to take place in Autumn 2025 which would inform topics for inclusion on the questionnaire;
   3. members discussed the composition of the Census Taskforce and heard it would bring together experts from across ONS, working closely with prominent stakeholders and the Devolved Administrations;
   4. the practicalities of having administrative based research running parallel to Census was discussed and how the overarching governance would bring the two together;
   5. OSR would be viewing the administrative based research separately from Census 2031, giving assessments on both;
   6. the contribution from the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) to the Census Consultation was discussed and they would continue to contribute to support with the aim of increasing responses and ensuring varied opinions were heard;
   7. the RSS was due to hold a series of round tables to look at statistical challenges across the system which could inform ONS’ work, one of these was on the use of Administrative Data;
   8. a single platform for Census had been planned across the UK with the intention of Censuses taking place at the same time to help with collective engagement;
   9. members agreed that the committee should firmly represent users’ views to the National Statistician; and
   10. members agreed that it would be helpful to have an update on the parallel 2031 Censuses being run in Scotland and Northern Ireland at a future committee.

6. Any other business

1. Members heard that an Assembly Progress Report would be published on the UK Statistics Authority website to provide a specific update in the autumn, with a link circulated to attendees as a means of continuing involvement with stakeholders.
2. The purpose of the committee was discussed, and it was agreed that the Committee’s purpose would be clearer once a new Permanent Secretary was recruited however it would be useful to see a diagram of the various advisory committees to define better NSEUAC’s role in relation to the other advisory committees.
3. The next meeting was due to take place via teams on 22 September 2025.