Next meeting: 26 June 2025, Manchester Boardroom

Members present

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

Other attendees

• June Bowman
• Sir Robert Devereux (for item 9)
• Grant Fitzner (for item 9)
• Tom Taylor

Secretariat

• Sally Jones

Apologies

• Sarah Moore

1. Apologies

1. Apologies were noted from Sarah Moore.

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 24 April 2025 were approved.

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

1. Non-Executive Directors had met before the meeting. They had discussed the ongoing review by Sir Robert Devereux.
2. The Chair welcomed Emma Rourke to her first meeting as Acting National Statistician, noting thanks on behalf of the Board for taking on the role and offering support.
3. The Chair paid warm tribute to Professor Sir Ian Diamond for his contribution, commitment and energy he had brought to the role of National Statistician and to championing the vital role of statistics across society more broadly and wished him well for the future on behalf of the Board. Sir Ian had stepped down on 9 May due to ongoing health issues.
4. The Chair reported on his recent activities since the Board last met, noting the work across the Authority by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in preparation for the forthcoming inquiry by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).

5. Report from the Chief Executive [SA(25)26]

1. Emma Rourke noted her thanks and appreciation to Sir Ian Diamond, and the work he did during his five and a half years as National Statistician and Permanent Secretary.
2. Emma provided the Board with an overview of activity and issues since the last meeting highlighting the following:
   1. the changes made to ONS’s executive governance structure to better support action towards ONS priorities. This included broadening out of ONS Executive Committee (ExCo) and a simplification of the governance structure, with all ExCo subcommittees stood down and a move to  weekly ExCo meetings facilitating a  central forum for strategic decisions and collective leadership;
   2. the finance team were in discussion with HM Treasury colleagues to reach an agreed spending review settlement in June;
   3. the publication of the Future of Population and Migration Statistics recommendation was scheduled mid-June with further stakeholder engagement planned alongside;
   4. ONS continued to work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with ONS hosting a joint workshop around technology assumptions on threats and opportunities in the coming years;
   5. the work by ONS in preparation for the next publication of migration statistics in November, which would include supporting communications regarding the methodological change;
   6. the work by the ONS International Team to maintain ONS’s international standing and influence noting the impact of any reduced Official Development Assistance funding in the coming years; and
   7. progress by ONS to address the long-standing issue of delays to coronial data associated with drug related deaths.
3. The Board heard that ONS continued to work with Ministry of Justice colleagues on the issue of delays to coronial data associated with drug related deaths. The ongoing pilot by ONS with Liverpool and Wirral was providing data on coronial certificates but no death registration certificates as yet, which highlighted the issue that needed addressing. With regard to changes to ONS executive governance it was clarified that the there were no immediate assurance gaps as a result of standing down ExCo subcommittees. The move to weekly meetings would enable ExCo to review the interdependencies across the strategic risk profile more frequently with coordinated mitigation. Convening Task and Finish Groups (T&FG) on a specific issue as needed, such as the Data Governance T&FG, would increase focus on significant risk remediation. It was noted that the update on the Integrated Data Service to the Board in June would provide clarity on the position of the programme.

6. Communications Update 

1. Peter Barron presented the paper in Sarah’s absence. He updated the Board on the development of metrics that would enable the Board to effectively mitigate communications risks.
2. The Board heard that a longer-term communications strategy was in development and would align with the ongoing work on the plan for core economic statistics. ONS would take a more proactive approach going forward with underpinning communications alongside publications, including having a spokesperson available on important issues.
3. The Board discussed the proposed metrics and provided feedback. It was noted that the Devereux review may highlight issues for consideration that would be useful to track. Over the next twelve months an overarching narrative reflecting ONS’s recovery, would be developed. It was acknowledged that an open transparent approach would be taken.

7. Report from the Director General for Regulation [SA(25)27] 

1. Ed Humpherson provided an update on regulation activity since the last meeting. OSR had concluded the consultation on the refresh of the Code of Practice for Statistics and published a summary report of feedback. Preparation for the PACAC Inquiry was a key area of focus for OSR.

8. 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 16 May 2025.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. the pre audit financial position at year end 2024/25 including acknowledgement of the small percentage surplus;
   2. the breach of Cabinet Office controls regarding the contract for Crime Survey for England and Wales and  impact of the cumulative expenditure for 2023/24 and 2024/25 on this financial year;
   3. the update on the refreshed strategic risk profile with a focus on risks outside of appetite, and the need for further work on the interdependencies of risks;
   4. a risk deep dive into technological resilience specifically legacy and interdependencies with statistical quality and strategic resourcing; and
   5. delivery of the Internal Audit Plan 2024/25 and discussion of the Data Governance Report.
3. The Committee agreed that a paper on people and strategic resourcing would be scheduled for the June meeting.

9. Plan for Core Economic Statistics

1. The Chair welcomed Sir Robert Devereux to the meeting. Sir Robert Devereux provided an update on progress of his independent review and plans for publication, noting the intention to publish the review outcome alongside the plan for core economic statistics, which was being developed by ONS at pace. Stakeholder engagement would be undertaken ahead of publication.
2. Members were provided with a hard copy of the draft plan for core economic statistics at the meeting. Sir Robert Devereux welcomed the development of the plan by ONS and shared his thoughts on options in terms of the level of detail needed in order to provide the assurance needed by both the Board and stakeholders. The plan reiterated ONS’s commitment to improve quality, reduce risk and move data and core statistics to a more sustainable footing. Sir Robert Devereux acknowledged that the challenges faced by ONS had in part related to prioritisation decisions and that he considered they had the capability to deliver change.
3. Members of the Board discussed the draft plan for core economic statistics. The following points were considered in discussion:
   1. the need for the Board to have the appropriate level of assurance on deliverability of the plan;
   2. the plan should clearly set out that it is ONS’s response to OSR’s Systemic Review of ONS Economic Statistics;
   3. ONS had undertaken two pilots looking at embedding continuous improvement and statistical engineering, which was a learning point for ONS on prioritisation;
   4. the need to provide better delivery assurance through improved management information;
   5. the importance of the Board being able to support the plan based on further detail to be provided including a timeline for delivery and available resources and capability; and
   6. the plan would provide ONS with the basis for a culture shift in terms of delivery. The plan would be a living document with annual published updates on delivery and regular oversight by the Executive Committee. ExCo was already in the process of considering the assurances needed to underpin delivery of the plan.
4. The Board agreed on the format of the plan. A further meeting would be scheduled for Non-Executive Directors at which the required level of detail and assurance would be provided to enable the Board to endorse the plan.
5. Sir Robert Devereux briefly outlined the high-level findings of his review. He also noted that on publication of his review it was his intention to endorse ONS’s plan for core economic statistics. Timing of publication of both documents were in the process of being agreed.

10. Any other business

1. The Board will next meet on Thursday 26 June.