Next meeting: 31 October 2024

Members present

• Sir Robert Chote (Chair)
• Dr Jacob Abboud
• Professor Sir John Aston
• Professor Sir Ian Diamond
• Ed Humpherson
• Professor Dame Carol Propper
• Emma Rourke
• Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter
• Penny Young

Other attendees

• Pete Benton (for item 13)
• Stephen Burgess (for item 10)
• Kirsty Campion (for item 14)
• Caroline Ellis (for item 1)
• Grant Fitzner (for item 10)
• Nigel Green (for item 13)
• Mike Hardie (for item 10)
• Sarah Henry (for item 11)
• Alex Lambert (for item 11)
• Alastair McAlpine (for item 1)
• Liz McKeown (for item 11)
• Sarah Moore
• Jane Naylor (for item 12)
• Victoria Obudula (for item 12)
• Natalie Tarr (for item 14)

Apologies

• Mike Keoghan
• Tom Taylor

Secretariat

• Sally Jones
• Tom Marsh

1. Chief Statistician Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland

1. Alastair McAlpine, Chief Statistician, Scottish Government and Caroline Ellis, Statistician, National Records of Scotland introduced a presentation, which covered the following topic areas:
   1. an overview of priorities in Scotland, making better use of data to inform policy;
   2. modernising and improving the statistics system for the benefit of Scotland and the UK;
   3. empowering statisticians to innovate in delivering Scotland’s strategic priorities;
   4. the role of the Scots Stats Board, co-chaired by Professor Anahid Basiri and Professor Sir John Curtice, to provide advice and challenge to the Chief Statistician on the production of and dissemination of Scottish devolved statistics;
   5. addressing the challenges around data sharing and join up with the Integrated Data Service;
   6. the role of the Devolved Chief Statistician in relation to the Lievesley Review; and
   7. the opportunities for National Records of Scotland in relation to the future of population and migration statistics.
2. Board members welcomed the opportunity to discuss and continue to collaborate in areas of mutual interest including the future of population statistics, UK wide comparability and coherence of data, and addressing the continued challenges around data sharing.
3. The Board noted their thanks for an excellent presentation.

2. Apologies

1. Apologies were noted from Mike Keoghan and Tom Taylor.

3. Declarations of Interest

1. Dr Jacob Abboud informed the meeting of a declaration of interest. Dr Abboud had taken on the role of Independent Non-Executive Director Chair at MS Amlin Business Services.

4. Minutes and matters arising from previous meetings

1. The minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 July were approved.

5. Report from the Authority Chair [SA(24)44]

1. Non-Executive Directors had met before the meeting.
2. The Chair reported on his activities since the Board last met:
   1. Sir Robert had delivered the keynote address at the 38^th General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth on the revision of the System of National Accounts in 2025;
   2. the Authority’s response to the Lievesley Review had been published on 4 September, including the announcement of the Authority’s UK Statistics Assembly on 22 January 2025; and
   3. Sir Robert would be attending the Statistical Dinner Club as a guest speaker on the future of the statistical system with reference to the Lievesley Review.
3. It was noted that Professor Denise Lievesley would be invited to attend a future Board meeting ahead of the Assembly in January, which would include an update on overall progress against all recommendations.

6. Report from the Chief Executive [SA(24)45]

1. Sir Ian provided the Board with an overview of activity and issues since the last meeting, highlighting the following:
   1. the spending review bid for the first stage of the Spending Review 2025 (SR25) had been submitted to HM Treasury (HMT). Discussions were ongoing with HMT colleagues to simplify the organisation’s funding model;
   2. ONS engagement across the government missions through its strategic partnership with the Joint Data and Analysis Centre;
   3. Sir Ian, as part of his role of the Senior Leadership Analysis Group, had presented on topics including child poverty;
   4. communication and engagement plans for the publication of health statistics in October and migration statistics in November;
   5. following the presentations at the July Board meeting, which had highlighted examples of legacy transformation, work continued at pace in this area with the Data Science Campus using Artificial Intelligence tools to improve the quality of ONS data coding;
   6. survey response rates continued to be an area of focus with work ongoing regarding career development opportunities for the field force to improve retention;
   7. a programme of work to stabilise the ongoing collection of the Annual Population Survey including engagement with users;
   8. the impact of the range of activities undertaken to support colleagues’ well-being in response to the disorder across the UK in early August;
   9. industrial action continued with Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS) members taking part in action short of a strike in relation to hybrid working;
   10. delivery progress of the transformation of the ONS website and content;
   11. ONS had asked the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) to reclassify Census 2021 gender identity estimates to official statistics in development. The Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation team would be working across the GSS to develop a harmonised standard; and
   12. Sir Ian had delivered a number of keynote speeches including at the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS), which had included reference to population registers.
2. The Board heard that Sir Ian would be meeting with the Australian National Statistician and the Australian Minster regarding the next Australian Census in 2026. Sir Ian would also be meeting colleagues from the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics as part of their study visit to ONS.
3. Board members discussed the report and noted the progress on the use of Large Language Models. As highlighted in the recent meeting by the ONS crime team with Ministers regarding the publication of crime statistics, the metric for the measurement of violence against women and girls would be supported by a range of other metrics. With regard to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC), Simon Hoare Member of Parliament had been appointed as Committee Chair. It was noted that following the Authority’s response to the PACAC Report, Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base, delivery progress would be reported to the Board. Work was being undertaken around population registers including some public focus groups. It was noted that death certification reform came into force on 9 September. Roll out had been smooth and successful for ONS, and across all other departments and the National Health Service. In May ONS had sent a paper to the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care seeking their position on ideas, which could address the limitation caused by long registrations delays for cases referred to the coroner.
4. The Board noted the report. It was agreed that a paper would be provided at the next meeting on population registers, ahead of the discussion already scheduled on the Future of Population and Migration Statistics at the November Board meeting.

7. Report from the Director General of Regulation [SA(24)46]

1. Ed Humpherson provided update on regulation activity, highlighting the work by OSR on the refresh of the Code of Practice for Statistics and public consultation. Regulation Committee had provided feedback on the draft consultation at its meeting on 19 September.
2. The Board heard that the current volume of casework was low. OSR’s annual review of casework had highlighted its focus on encouraging intelligent transparency in the use of all statistics and data. The report was scheduled for publication at the end of the month.
3. The Board noted the update and highlighted the importance of raising awareness of the principles of intelligent transparency for key officials across government including special advisers. It was noted that a session on intelligent transparency was scheduled for the GSS Conference in October.

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 19 September 2024.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. the proposal by OSR and agreement by the Committee to reaccredit the Crime Survey for England and Wales;
   2. the need for improvement on the quality of police recorded fraud and computer misuse statistics;
   3. assessment reports for ONS’s Price Index for Private Rents and Business Investment statistics;
   4. cross-cutting issues arising from OSR reviews on the production of population statistics by ONS;
   5. the draft Annual Casework Report 2023/24; and
   6. OSR’s refresh of the Code of Practice for Statistics and draft consultation document.

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 12 September.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. the financial position of the organisation and the approach being taken to the Spending Review 2025;
   2. delivery progress of the Internal Audit programme of assurance 2024/25;
   3. an update on risk and assurance activities including the Authority’s strategic risk profile;
   4. a risk deep dive on Strategic Risk 3, Quality Statistics;
   5. progress on the implementation of audit actions in response to the Internal Audit Report on the Data Science Campus; and
   6. the annual self-review of effectiveness.
3. The Committee had also heard that the Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24 had been laid on 11 July.

10. Retail Prices Index [SA(24)47]

1. As this area of work is in development, this paper will be published upon completion.

11. Transformed Labour Force Survey/Labour Force Survey [SA(24)48]

1. Alex Lambert, Sarah Henry and Liz McKeown introduced a paper which provided an update on the Transformed Labour Force (TLFS) Survey project; and the lessons learned exercise.
2. The Board heard that the project was amber red, which reflected the risks associated with meeting labour market quality criteria. The quality of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) had improved, but user concerns remained in relation to the quality of labour market data. Work continued at pace to address LFS quality issues with additional field force colleagues being transferred to support the later waves of the LFS from November.
3. In line with the agreed plans the project was focusing on labour market data and progressing improvement of the TLFS. Shorter TLFS survey tests would go live in October and the design recommendation for the TLFS would be considered by the Executive Committee (ExCo) in February 2025. User engagement had continued, including the second meeting of the Stakeholder Advisory Panel, and with key users at the BoE, HMT, Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and Department of Work and Pensions. With regard to the coherence of UK data a workshop was scheduled with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency in October to address the difference in timelines.
4. Board members discussed the update on the LFS/TLFS. The following points were considered in discussion:
   1. progress of work to improve Standard Industrial Classification and Standard Occupational Classification data for the TLFS with numerous workstreams being undertaken in parallel to accelerate the pace of work;
   2. the quality of LFS waves two to five with additional resources being allocated from November to address this issue;
   3. the impact of the LFS data for the single month of June on the next round of labour market statistics scheduled for publication in October (with the next release covering June to August). Continuing to provide clear communications, increased transparency and explanation would be needed to provide clarity for users on the volatility of the data and how it should be used;
   4. the importance of user engagement with transparent communications and consistent messaging of a clear timeline for delivery, including any delays; and
   5. the issue of conflicting resource pressures, which would be considered by ExCo.
5. Sarah Henry introduced the findings of the lessons learned exercise, which had been undertaken by the Methodology and Quality team over the summer. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) had discussed the report. SLT Members had not been interviewed as part of the process but the feedback following discussion by the SLT had been reflected in the final report. The report highlighted issues around psychological safety, and the perception that positive messaging was needed at a senior level, which had impacted the ability of colleagues to escalate risks. It was acknowledged that although the project had been challenging the organisation had come together in response including support from the Board.
6. It was acknowledged that the lessons learned aimed to understand the challenges experienced in the delivery of the TLFS with the view to learning lessons across the organisation. Work was already underway in response to the recommendations. The Board heard reflections from Alex Lambert, Liz McKeown and Sarah Henry on the lessons learned, which informed the discussion.
7. Board members discussed the lessons learned summary report. The following points were considered in discussion.
   1. the importance of accurate briefing and reporting to both ExCo and the Board to provide the required level of assurance;
   2. the underpinning reasons for the anxiety amongst colleagues to raise issues while acknowledging that given the complexity and constraints of the project not all issues raised could be addressed;
   3. the need to encourage candour from colleagues at all levels, and the ability to distinguish between someone raising serious delivery risks, which could also present as change resistance;
   4. effectiveness of the mechanisms in place in relation to project and programme governance, continuity of oversight and leadership and the need for resilience within the programme to deal with changes;
   5. the importance of technical leadership at the outset of a complex programme of work;
   6. the need to improve stakeholder engagement on changes already in place for LFS and TLFS with weekly updates for the BoE, HMT and OBR, monthly technical sessions, and the creation of the Stakeholder Advisory Panel on labour market statistics to provide further external expertise and challenge; and
   7. the impact of the work on the TLFS/LFS in raising awareness of the criticality of core economic statistics, as set out in ONS’s Business Plan 2024/25.
8. Sir Ian highlighted that culture and reporting continued to be a key focus for the SLT, which had been a theme of the recent SCS Awayday. It also formed part of the remit for People Committee, chaired by Emma Rourke. Monthly SCS Monday Morning Colleagues sessions had been extended to colleagues at Grade 6 and Grade 7 to allow the opportunity for engagement, listening and discussion. Consideration was also being given to extending the membership of the ExCo.
9. Board members noted the report and highlighted the importance for the SLT to be assured of the impact of the lessons learned on the culture of the organisation, and the management of other major programmes such as the Future of Population and Migration Statistics and the Integrated Data Service. It was agreed that the broader lessons learned report would be shared with Non-Executive Directors and that an Internal Audit Review would be undertaken on programme governance.

12. Government Statistical Service Vision [SA(24)49]

1. Jane Naylor introduced a paper which provided an update on progress towards finalising and publishing a Government Statistical Service Vision – ‘Strength in Numbers’. The Board had discussed the development of a vision for the GSS at its meeting in March 2024. Engagement had been undertaken across the GSS including several discussions by the National Statistics Executive Group.
2. The Board welcomed the ambition set out in the GSS Vision. The Board heard that Sarah Henry, Methodology and Quality Director, had responsibility for the GSS with ONS providing some central resources. The issues around resourcing would be an area of focus early on and linked to the current funding model in place. A similar funding model to the Analysis Function was perhaps an option. Alongside strengthening resources, it was noted that now was an opportune time across the GSS to exploit the interest in data sharing working in partnership with Heads of Profession. The induction programme would be strengthened to improve attrition of resources.
3. The Board noted the GSS Vision which would be launched at the GSS Conference on 8 October with Sir Robert and Sir Ian presenting. Engagement of the vision beyond the launch would include the Royal Statistical Society and Department Directors of Analysis. The refresh of the Authority strategy would include engagement across the GSS.

13. Integrated Data Service [SA(24)50]

1. Pete Benton and Nigel Green introduced a paper which provided an update on delivery of the Integrated Data Service.
2. Pete Benton informed the Board that discussions were ongoing with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to ensure alignment with the emerging plans for a National Data Library. The programme continued to focus activities on datasets, users and analysis projects that would deliver the most benefit to policy and decision making. The current highest priority analysis project related to healthcare prevention.
3. The Board heard that the Critical Success Factors (CSFs), which had been agreed as part of the rescoped programme would need to be met for the programme to succeed. Underpinning milestones had been agreed to support delivery of the CSFs and a resourcing plan was near completion. The programme status was currently amber red.
4. Board members discussed the update. The following points were made in discussion.
   1. the potential relationship of the IDS with the NDL was unclear as discussions were at an early stage;
   2. the progress of the work with the Research Accreditation Panel to simplify the accreditation process for analysis projects. A useability review had been commissioned to evaluate simplicity of access;
   3. the need to increase the number of high value use projects on the IDS to inform decision making; and
   4. the continued challenges around data sharing across departments.
5. The Board noted the update and the challenges facing delivery of the programme.

14. Strategic Risk Profile [SA(24)51]

1. Natalie Tarr introduced a paper which provided an update on the Authority’s strategic risk profile, which reflected the most significant risks to the successful delivery of the Authority’s strategy.
2. Natalie Tarr informed the Board of the recent change to the Authority’s strategic risk profile. There was one risk operating outside of appetite, SR3, Quality Statistics. SR6, Our Communications had recently been brought back into appetite following the addition of new controls and enhancements to the ONS website and external communications, and plans were in place to ensure the longer-term stability of the website. As part of the mitigation for SR12, Technological Resilience, plans were in place to address legacy transformation. The risk score for SR1, Ensuring our Statistics and Analysis keep pace with the Changing Priorities, had increased but remained within appetite. With regard to SR8, Inclusivity in our Statistics and Analysis, the proposal was to reduce the risk appetite range to align with the organisation’s ambition to be inclusive in our statistics and analysis; and to reduce the overall score. SR0, Independence and Trustworthiness and Impact had been effectively mitigated with the implementation of additional controls.
3. The Board heard that ExCo and its subcommittees regularly considered the risk profile, with a focus on the risks outside of risk appetite, and the interplay across the strategic risk profile. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee discussed risk and assurance at every meeting and scheduled risk deep dives in areas of concern.
4. Members discussed the update. The following comments were made in discussion.
   1. the assurance provided by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee with a focus on SR3, and risk deep dives scheduled for legacy and strategic resourcing in November;
   2. support for reducing the risk appetite range for SR8, with further consideration needed by ExCo as to whether to reduce the score given the wider external context;
   3. the addition of media training as part of SR6, and
   4. the need to consider broadening mitigations to support corporate reputation as part of SR0.
5. The Board agreed that the strategic risk profile reflected the top-level risks for the Authority; and agreed the proposal to reduce the risk appetite range for SR8, Inclusive Data.

15. Any other business

1. Sir Ian informed Non-Executive Directors of a whistleblowing case.
2. The Board would next meet on Thursday 31 October.