Members Present

• Penny Young (Chair)
• Sir Robert Chote
• Richard Dobbs
• Ed Humpherson
• Professor Dame Carol Propper
• Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter

Other Attendees

• Emily Barrington (for Item 4)
• Elise Baseley
• Rob Kent-Smith
• Helen Miller-Bakewell
• Sofi Nickson (for item 2)
• Mark Pont
• Gail Rankin
• Job de Roij (for item 3)

Secretariat

• Daniel Beck
• Sally-Ann Jones

Apologies

Declarations of Interest

• None

1. Apologies, minutes and matters arising

1. Members were welcomed to the meeting. The minutes of the meeting on 20 April 2023 were agreed, and actions were reviewed.
2. Professor Dame Carol Propper was welcomed to her first meeting. As this was his final meeting, the Chair thanked Richard Dobbs for his contribution to Regulation Committee.

2. Research Programme: An initial definition of the ‘public good’ [SA(RC)(23)17]

1. Sofi Nickson introduced a presentation on the work undertaken to establish a working definition of the public good of statistics. Members were provided with an overview of the work done in this area, along with a detailed breakdown of the current definition ‘statistics as a public asset used to provide insight which unlocks potential for society to flourish’.
2. Members welcomed this research and commended OSR on the work to date. The Committee would continue to remain engaged as the work progressed.

3. Draft Quality-focused Assessment Report: Producer Price Inflation Statistics [SA(RC)(23)18]

1. Job de Roij introduced the draft report on the Office for Statistics Regulation’s (OSR) assessment of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Producer Price Inflation (PPI) statistics.
2. The six requirements for ONS to improve on their PPI statistics, regarding sampling arrangements, data collection and processing; better understanding of revisions and remedial improvements as needed; and significant improvements to documentation about methods and quality were outlined. It was concluded that these statistics were in OSR’s opinion not materially misleading, and as such should retain their National Statistics status.
3. More widely, members discussed the establishment of a formal de-designation process. They agreed to delegate the final report sign off to the Director General for Regulation once completed. The final report would be published before the next Regulation Committee meeting in July.

4. Data sharing and linkage, final report [SA(RC)(23)19]

1. Emily Barrington introduced the second draft report that OSR prepared to summarise the findings and recommendations from their review of data sharing and linkage across the public sector.
2. The extent of the engagement received from external stakeholders was outlined, along with a summary of feedback. Members noted that the draft report has been well received, but there is a need to be clearer about the scope of the review. Members discussed and endorsed the rationale to minimise the scope of the report to central government. It was noted that, once published, OSR could use the review as a platform to convene further work to the other parts of the public sector.
3. It was agreed that the final report would be circulated to members prior to publication.

5. Any Other Business

1. The Chair introduced a brief discussion on the state of the Statistical System report and new reference section. Gail Rankin clarified that this would be published separately to the report on the State of the Statistical System.
2. The Chair requested that members complete the self-effectiveness review survey once distributed.
3. The Committee would meet next on Thursday 13 July.