Next meeting: 27 March 2025, Newport Boardroom

Members present

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

Other attendees

• June Bowman
• Mary Gregory (for item 8)
• Professor David Hand (for item 9)
• Professor Denise Lievesley (for item 9)
• Mike Keoghan
• Ruth Studley (for item 8))
• Sarah Moore

Secretariat

• Sally Jones

Apologies

• Professor Mairi Spowage
• Tom Taylor

1. Apologies

1. Apologies were noted from Professor Mairi Spowage and Tom Taylor.

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 30 January were agreed subject to a minor amendment.

4. Report from the Authority Chair [SA(25)08]

1. Non-Executive Directors had met before the meeting. They had discussed topics including the Future of Population and Migration Statistics (FPMS) and the UK Statistics Assembly.
2. The Chair welcomed new Non-Executive Director members, Peter Barron and Dr Sarah Walsh to their first meeting. With regard to Board subcommittee membership Peter Barron would join Regulation Committee and Dr Sarah Walsh and Professor Mairi Spowage the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. It was noted that the aim was to commence a recruitment process to replace Professor Sir John Aston.
3. The Chair reported on his attendance at an event hosted by the National Statistician and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe welcoming the Bureau of the Conference of European Statistics to London for their first meeting of 2025.

5. Report from the Chief Executive [SA(25)09]

1. Sir Ian provided the Board with an overview of activity and issues since the last meeting, highlighting the following:
   1. the year-end financial position was forecast to be a small under expenditure;
   2. the business planning process 2025/26 had focused on the highest priority core outputs and was near completion. Alongside this the finance team were working towards the submission of the second phase of the Spending Review 2025 (SR25);
   3. consideration of the ethical and legal issues regarding data sharing for the public good;
   4. the work by ONS colleagues to develop a Consumer Prices bulletin;
   5. progress by ONS to address the long-standing issue of delays to coronial data associated with drug related deaths;
   6. progress of the Integrated Data Service and ongoing discussions with the Cabinet Office regarding the National Data Library; and
   7. the proactive approach by Communications and Digital Publishing supporting publications that have informed public debate, such as the recent coverage of alcohol related deaths.
2. Board members discussed the update highlighting that the draft business plan narrative should reflect the challenges and the need to focus resources in key areas. The 2024 People Survey results with regard to leadership and managing change would be a key area of focus for the Executive and had been discussed by the People Committee. Emma Rourke continued to work with the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Health and Social Care on the long-standing issues of delays to coronial data associated with drug related deaths. A pilot was ongoing sharing interim death certificates with ONS.

6. Report from the Director General of Regulation [SA(25)10]

1. Ed Humpherson provided an update on regulation activity, highlighting the development of OSR’s strategy and input into the Spending Review. This provided an opportunity to consider the structure and develop capability through training and development. With regard to OSR People Survey scores further work was ongoing in areas where the scores had declined.
2. OSR had published its phase three assessment report of the 2021 Census in Northern Ireland, confirming them accredited official statistics.

7. Report from the Chair of Regulation Committee

1. The Chair reported on the work of the Regulation Committee which had last met on 6 February 2025.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. the phase one draft report of the review of Economic Statistics produced by ONS including plans for its publication;
   2. ONS’s review of release times for market-sensitive economic releases and agreement that it remained at 07.00;
   3. OSR’s regulatory work on the work by ONS on the FPMS;
   4. the Code of Practice for Statistics consultation, which had closed on 14 February; and
   5. OSR’s review of the Transformed Labour Force Survey.

8. Future of Population and Migration Statistics [SA(25)11]

1. Emma Rourke, Ruth Studley and Mary Gregory introduced a paper which provided an update on the Future of Population and Migration Statistics (FPMS) programme The paper also set out an outline proposal for the recommendation to seek agreement from ministers to deliver a census in 2031 whilst maintaining the administrative based population statistics development during the intercensal years. It was noted that ONS engagement with Devolved Governments had indicated support for a single integrated data collection system in 2031 to allow UK coherence while retaining the ability for devolved question tailoring as needed.
2. Board members discussed the outline proposal. The following points were made in discussion:
   1. the proposal reflected the recent feedback provided by users at the first UK Statistics Assembly on 22 January supporting a whole population census in 2031 complemented by administrative data with publications of administrative-based population estimates;
   2. the need to consider the communications underpinning the publication of the independent report on the UK Statistics Assembly led by Professor David Hand and members of the National Statistician’s Expert User Advisory Committee (NSEUAC), which was scheduled for publication following discussion of the report at this meeting;
   3. the proposal/recommendation document to consider setting out the external context and challenges faced over the last year, highlighting the value of administrative data and the progress made while also being transparent about the limitations of the FPMS programme’s maturity at this point to achieve the granularity and quality of characteristics that users need. The document and associated publication communications should also focus on user need;
   4. ONS colleagues continued to engage with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology colleagues on its digital agenda and related programmes of interest;
   5. development of the business case for the proposal would be challenging given the complexity of the proposed model. Discussions were ongoing with HM Treasury (HMT) as part of SR25;
   6. stakeholder engagement by ONS including with privacy groups; and
   7. the work by ONS learning from international colleagues.
3. The Board heard that ONS would continue discussions with HMT; a circa six-month taskforce would be convened to set out the critical path for delivery using existing expertise. A new leadership model would be implemented within the Health, Population and Methods group and programme governance would be refreshed.
4. The Board endorsed the proposed approach that the recommendation document to recommend a census in 2031 and maintain the administrative based population statistics development as part of the population statistics system. The Board noted the decision to call a census is for the government. The draft recommendation document would be provided for the March Board meeting with May as a potential date for publication to allow time for ministerial engagement. The Board agreed to establish a new Board subcommittee to provide assurance, oversight and challenge of delivery. Subcommittee Terms of Reference would be developed in line with the proposed approach.

9. UK Statistics Assembly Report [SA(25)12]

1. The Chair welcomed Professor David Hand and Professor Denise Lievesley to the meeting and noted thanks to Professor Hand for delivering the UK Statistics Assembly Report so quickly after the event.
2. Professor Hand outlined the joint iterative approach that had been taken to producing the report, which included colleagues from the National Statistician’s Expert User Advisory Committee, Professor Denise Lievesley and a representative from the Royal Statistical Society.
3. Professor Lievesley congratulated the Authority on the exemplary preparations for the Assembly. The proof of the success of the Assembly would be if users were of the view that they had been listened to and whether statistical producers felt their work was enhanced and improved. The Assembly had provided the opportunity for engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. The level of engagement by businesses at the Assembly could perhaps have been higher, which was similar to the review itself. The Chair’s Annual Lecture would provide the opportunity to inform other producers of the Authority’s priorities to avoid any overlaps. A number of other National Statistics Offices had listened into the event and some were considering holding their own. In terms of frequency it was acknowledged that every three years was the right approach as it should not become routine and would align with the spending review cycle.
4. Board members discussed the report. The following points were made in discussion:
   1. the recommendations from the Assembly would inform the SR25 process;
   2. the Authority’s response to the report would be transparent, with consideration of areas of responsibility across the UK Statistical system;
   3. consideration of the sequencing and timing of the Authority’s response alongside the work towards the Chair’s first annual lecture in July; and
   4. the need for the framework and quality of user engagement to be effective for users as a whole.
5. Sir Robert and Professor Sir Ian Diamond noted thanks to Professor Lievesley for the review and to Professor David Hand for producing the report. The Board welcomed report on the first UK Statistics Assembly, which would be published in the coming days.

10. Any other business

1. The Board would next meet on Thursday 27 March.