Next meeting: 31 July 2025, London Boardroom

Members present

• Sir Robert Chote
• Dr Jacob Abboud
• Peter Barron
• Ed Humpherson
• Emma Rourke
• Professor David Spiegelhalter
• Professor Mairi Spowage
• Professor Dame Carol Propper
• Dr Sarah Walsh
• Penny Young

Other attendees

• June Bowman
• Alex Lambert (for item 13)
• Liz McKeown (for item 13)
• Sarah Moore
• Professor Alice Sullivan (for item 10)
• Tom Taylor

Secretariat

• Sally Jones

Apologies

• None

1. Apologies

1. There were no apologies.

2. Declarations of Interest

1. There were no new declarations of interest.

3. Minutes and matters arising from previous meetings

1. The minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 May 2025 were approved.
2. The Secretariat recommended quarterly reporting for early warning indicators on quality to align with senior level meetings attended by the Acting National Statistician with key stakeholders including HM Treasury (HMT). The Director of Quality and Methodology would meet regularly with the HMT representative who had previously been a member of ONS Quality Committee. At the pre NED session members had discussed the importance of relevant management information to inform effective oversight by the Board. It was noted that work was already in progress by the ONS to improve the Integrated Performance Report.

4. Report from the Authority Chair [SA(25)30]

1. Non-Executive Directors had a pre meet. They had discussed the review by Sir Robert Devereux and Board oversight of delivery.
2. The Chair reported on activities since the Board last met highlighting the following:
   1. Sir Robert had continued to work with Sir Robert Devereux and the Cabinet Office on the review, with the final report scheduled for publication later in the day;
   2. the ongoing work in preparation for the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) hearing on 1 July;
   3. that on 17 June, the Authority had published its recommendation of the Future of Population and Migration Statistics in England and Wales; and
   4. the completion of the appointment process for the new Director General for the ONS Economic, Social and Environmental Group with James Benford joining the Office for National Statistics (ONS) early August.

5. Report from the Chief Executive [SA(25)31]

1. Emma Rourke provided the Board with an overview of activity and issues since the last meeting highlighting the following:
   1. following changes to ONS’s executive governance, Executive Committee (ExCo) continued to meet weekly. The duration of meetings had been extended to 90 minutes to ensure sufficient time to deal with key strategic discussions and Task and Finish Groups were being convened to allow for focus on specific areas, maintain pace of delivery with membership comprising the skills needed for the task;
   2. delivery progress of the work to develop and improve management information provided to ExCo to inform decision making and a broader piece of work on the control and assurance framework across the organisation;
   3. James Benford, the incoming Director General for the Economic, Social and Environmental Group had met with ESEG colleagues;
   4. a visit by the Cabinet Secretary to the Newport office, which had included presentations on the census taskforce, economic statistics and prices transformation;
   5. the approach to cyber security and risk exposure following recent the Legal Aid Agency security incident with a paper scheduled for the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September;
   6. the impact of improved quality assurance processes highlighting errors with the most recent in relation to the Annual Business Survey. A correction notice had been published on the ONS website on 25 June explaining the processing error. It was noted that the error was not related to legacy systems but a result of improved quality assurance processes. As part of the process for handling errors the communications team provide advice on stakeholder and user engagement; and
   7. preparation ahead of the PACAC hearing on 1 July.
2. The Board noted the update.

6. Communications Update 

1. Peter Barron and Sarah Moore reported on recent media coverage of ONS noting some good coverage of key releases including Labour Market, Gross Domestic Product and migration statistics. Negative coverage related to ONS leadership and culture and the recent Consumer Prices Index error.
2. The Board heard that Sir Robert Devereux’s independent review of the performance and culture of the ONS was scheduled for publication later in the day (26 June). At the same time ONS would publish its plan for ONS Economic Statistics and ONS Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan.

7. DG update and Code of Practice for Statistics [SA(25)32]

1. Ed Humpherson provided an update on regulation activity since the last meeting. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) had published the final phase assessment of the 2021 Census in England and Wales; and a review of statistics from ONS’s Wealth and Assets Survey. Key areas of focus included preparation for the PACAC hearing and the development of OSR’s strategy.
2. OSR were in the final stages of drafting the refreshed Code of Practice (CoP) for Statistics having reviewed feedback from the consultation. OSR colleagues presented the key changes: a new Trustworthiness Quality and Value framework with simple, direct principles, ten ‘must’ statements with action-oriented practices and the integration of Intelligent Transparency.
3. Members discussed the proposed changes to the CoP and commended OSR on the work undertaken in reaching this point. Members welcomed the clarity of the document and focus on different users. There was a need to consider the relevance of the CoP for different users across government; the potential to further highlight the responsibility of producers and analysts; and it could be more explicit about the standards in relation to Special Advisors. Reference to the risks around Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be included and the pre-emption of misuse of data could perhaps be more prominent. It was noted that extensive engagement had been undertaken with Government Statistical Service (GSS) Heads of Profession (HoP) throughout the development of the refreshed CoP including a role for HoPs embedding it across the GSS.
4. The Board welcomed the clarity of the refreshed document. Following a further discussion by Regulation Committee at its next meeting on 21 July a final draft would be considered for approval by the Board at the July meeting.

8. Report from the Chair of the Regulation Committee

1. The Chair reported on the work of the Regulation Committee which had last met on 5 June.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. the outline of the State of the Statistical System Report;
   2. the refresh of the Code of Practice for Statistics;
   3. OSR’s Annual Review of Casework;
   4. the development of OSR’s strategy and business plan;
   5. a presentation on how the public use statistics to inform personal decision making; and
   6. approved Assessment Reports for Phase three Census for England and Wales; Cancer waiting times and Northern Ireland public transport statistics.

9. Report from the Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

1. The Chair reported on the work of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee which had last met on 19 June.
2. The Chair reported that based on the work of the Committee during the year and assurance work carried out by external and internal auditors, it was his opinion that the Authority’s governance and control framework was generally effective, but with some significant weaknesses identified particularly in relation to data governance and technology. The Committee accepted the overall limited opinion from the Head of Internal Audit. External Audit would be recommending to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) that he should certify the 2024/25 financial statements with an unqualified audit opinion. The C&AG had concluded that he should qualify the regularity opinion as a result of the previous breach of Cabinet Office controls and the materiality of the cumulative crime survey contract spend. It was noted that in the year ahead the Committee would be looking for improvements in developing the culture of ownership and accountability; progressing critical enabling capabilities in resourcing and technology; strengthening risk and oversight functions and strengthening governance.
3. The Board heard that due to timing of governance meetings this year final consideration and approval of the Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts would be undertaken in correspondence in time for laying in Parliament on 17 July.
4. Members highlighted the challenges ahead and the need for ONS to address the key areas of weakness around data governance and technology while also delivering the Economic Statistics Plan. It was acknowledged that sequencing of the work would be challenging, which was a key area of focus for ExCo.

10. Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender

1. The Chair welcomed Professor Alice Sullivan to the meeting. Professor Sullivan led on the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender. This had been commissioned in February 2024 by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and published on the 19 March 2025. The aims of the review: Identifying obstacles to accurate data collection and research on sex and on gender identity in public bodies and in the research system; and setting out good practice guidance for how to collect data on sex and gender identity.
2. Professor Sullivan highlighted her findings that Civil Servants wanted clear guidance on recording data on sex and gender. Professor Sullivan referenced the clear recommendations made by the Inclusive Data Taskforce – How can we be more inclusive in our data, published in July 2021; OSR’s guidance on data and statistics about sex and gender identity published in December 2024; and the recent Supreme Court Judgement in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers in April 2025. Professor Sullivan highlighted that her review could assist in providing recommended questions, which she presented.
3. Board members welcomed the presentation by Professor Sullivan and noted the clarity of the analysis. It was noted that the GSS Harmonisation Team led by ONS were undertaking a programme of work to review standards for sex and gender identity for statistical producers with a clear timeline in place for delivery. Professor Sullivan would be speaking to the GSS Harmonisation Team on her findings.

11. Authority Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25 [SA(25)33]

1. The Board had discussed the approach to the approval for the Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25 earlier in the meeting, as part of the Dr Jacob Abboud’s update on the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee meeting held on 19 June.

12. Integrated Data Service [SA(25)34]

1. Megan Cooper introduced a paper which provided an update on the Integrated Data Service Programme.
2. The Board heard that ONS were in the process of closing the Integrated Data Progamme and removing it from the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The closure of the programme would enable the release of staff to support delivery of the economic statistics plan. The ONS would continue to maintain the IDS infrastructure while continuing to explore opportunities to use it internally and to find efficiencies and synergies across programmes of work across the organisation. The Secure Research Service (SRS) would continue and the aim was to bring the SRS and IDS closer together. ONS continued discussions with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology about the lessons learnt from IDS in relation to the National Data Library. Work was ongoing to manage live analytical projects. The approach to internal and external communications was under development and would include details of the programme closure, the availability of the SRS, the continued use of the platform data and analysis infrastructure within ONS.
3. Members discussed the update. The following points were made in discussion:
   1. the need for clear communications on the closure of the programme setting out the remaining available service for academic researchers and government analysts;
   2. discussions on treatment of projects that are currently on the IDS pipeline were scheduled for ExCo in the coming weeks;
   3. members appreciated that the benefits profile of the programme would shift to the right;
   4. the value of the SRS which enables research for the public good;
   5. the work in reaching this point in the IDS programme which had produced a valuable asset not only for ONS but with the potential for the whole of government. While the programme was closing the value of the asset created would be retained for ONS and potentially for externals in the future; and
   6. discussions by ONS with DSIT colleagues would continue.
4. The Board noted the update and approach being taken to the closure of the IDS programme with elements of the service remaining.

13. Transformed Labour Force Survey [SA(25)35]

1. Alex Lambert and Liz McKeown introduced a paper which provided an update on the Transformed Labour Force Survey programme, ONS social survey portfolio and wider labour market statistics landscape.
2. The Board heard that the TLFS programme had been set up as a formal programme with Alex Lambert as the Senior Responsible Owner. The Board acknowledged that TLFS is reporting Amber-Red from the first programme board as a result of two key issues in relation to the UK data coherence and complex data collection, coding and processing. The Board noted the progress in delivering the new short core TLFS, which would go live on 7 July. With regard to social survey portfolio performance, an initial recovery plan had been launched in October 2023, expanding to a full portfolio of work following HMT investment in April 2024, which had enabled the recovery of wave one of the LFS. A new recognition scheme for interviewers has been developed and approved by HMT, to support the retention and performance of interviewers. The recruitment of field force interviewers had been strengthened through a new strategic resourcing partner. The plans to improve social surveys and business surveys would be set out in the Survey Enhancement and Improvement Plan, (due for publication later in the day).
3. Members discussed the update. The following points were made in discussion:
   1. it was clarified that TLFS is the collective term for two related surveys, a streamlined labour market-focused mutli-wave (longitudinal) survey (the TLFS Labour Market Core) that would take 15 minutes to complete on average and a separate cross-sectional survey (the TLFS Plus) collecting wider socioeconomic and household data;
   2. the decline in interviews for the Living Cost and Food (LCF) survey was primarily due to the loss of LCF trained interviewers and their replacement with inexperienced new recruits. To address this increased coaching had been introduced with coaching partners spending time in the field actively interviewing; and
   3. the key risks to the programme around UK data coherence and complex data collection were underpinned by clear mitigation plans. It would be a further six months to conclude the parallel streams of work to provide an evidence based assessment for addressing these risks. An extraordinary meeting of the Stakeholder Advisory Panel was scheduled to consider the UK coherence risk;
4. The Board noted the progress and emphasised the need to remain engaged on delivery of the TLFS in line with the decision made by the Board at the March 2025 meeting. ONS confirmed that the ambition remained to transition to using TLFS for labour market statistics in November 2026, noting that the decision would be evidence based and data led and may be later than November 2026.

14. Any other business

1. Members noted the need for programme reports to provide an executive summary setting out progress against delivery including successes, failures and lesson learned.
2. The Board would next meet on 31 July.