Present

UK Statistics Authority

• Sir Robert Chote (Chair)
• Sian Jones (Deputy Chair)
• Professor Sir John Aston
• Sam Beckett
• Helen Boaden
• Professor Sir Ian Diamond
• Richard Dobbs
• Ed Humpherson
• Nora Nanayakkara
• Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter
• Professor Anne Trefethen

Also in attendance

• Daniel Akoubkhani (for item 9)
• Owen Brace
• Robert Bumpstead
• Fiona Dawe (for item 9)
• Scott Dennison (for item 8)
• Grant Fitzner (for item 8)
• Sally-Ann Jones (Secretariat)
• Stefan Jones (for item 10)
• Mike Keoghan
• Vahe Nafilyan (for items 9 and 10)
• Joy Preece (for item 9)
• Alison Pritchard
• Emma Rourke (for item 9)
• Hugh Stickland (for item 10)
• Ruth Studley (for item 9)
• Rhys Thomas

Apologies

• Professor Jonathan Haskel

1. Introduction

1. Apologies were received from Professor Jonathan Haskel.

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 September 2022 were agreed.

4. Report from the Authority Chair

1. Non-Executives had met prior to the Board meeting. They had discussed topics including appointments and the Non-executive Director recruitment process, and delivery of the Integrated Data Service (IDS).
2. The Chair reported on his recent activities since the Board last met:
   1. on 5 October Sir Robert had met with members of the ONS Risk and Assurance Team, Natalie Tarr and Alex Dunn, to discuss the Authority’s Strategic Risk profile ahead of a discussion at the November Authority Board meeting;
   2. Sir Robert alongside Professor Sir Ian Diamond had met statistical teams at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade;
   3. on 24 October Sir Robert and Sir Ian had met the First Minister of Wales; and
   4. Sir Robert had attended the ONS Conference on the Cost of Living conference remotely on 25 October.

5. Report from the Chief Executive [SA(22)53]

1. Sir Ian provided the Board with an overview of activity and issues since the last meeting, highlighting the following:
   1. the move into 2 Marsham Street (2MS) on 17 October had been successful. The co-location with other departments would provide the opportunity for greater collaboration;
   2. Sir Ian had opened the ONS Cost of Living Conference on 25 October, which included Huw Pill (Chief Economist, Bank of England), amongst others, as a speaker at the event;
   3. the continued support by ONS and the International Steering Group, with Sir Ian as a member, for colleagues at the National Records of Scotland on the Scotland Census 2022;
   4. the work by ONS on the Sub National Data Project with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to continue to improve the availability, coherence and accessibility of subnational statistics;
   5. progress of ONS Local, an analytical advisory service being set up to help users navigate subnational data; and
2. ONS had won the Glassdoor Award for the best company for work-life balance for the second year in a row. The Board heard that the next publication of international comparison of all cause excess mortality in European nations and regions was scheduled for 1 November. Board members commended ONS on the range of statistics they produced, which informed how the cost of living is affecting the UK economy and the impact for different households.

6. Report from the Director General for Regulation [SA(22)54]

1. Ed Humpherson provided an update on regulation activity since the last meeting. OSR had delivered two seminars for government analysts, the first in September on communicating uncertainty, and the second in October on data sharing and linkage.
2. The Board heard that OSR’s business planning process 2022/23 would include the opportunity for stakeholder engagement. With regard to recruitment OSR were in the process of filling a number of vacancies, including the Deputy Director for Regulation post.

7. Report from the Chair of the Regulation Committee

1. Professor Anne Trefethen provided an update on the Regulation Committee held on 13 October.
2. The Committee had considered:
   1. progress against OSR’s business plan 2022/23 and arrangements for the business planning process 2023/24;
   2. OSR’s risk profile, which had identified recruitment as a short term risk that could impact on delivery;
   3. the Annual Review of Casework 2021/22, which had been published on 20 October;
   4. OSR’s follow up report on lessons learned for health and social care statistics during the pandemic, scheduled for publication towards the end of October;
   5. an update on the work by ONS on the transformation of population and migration statistics; and
   6. progress on Scotland’s Census 2022 and timing of OSR’s phase two assessment report.
3. The Committee had also considered the ongoing project to refresh the National Statistics Designation. Members had highlighted a number of areas for further consideration including the use of badging for signalling of grading quality and whether designation should be time limited.

8. UK Trade Statistics [SA(22)55]

1. Grant Fitzner and Scott Dennison introduced a paper which provided an update on UK Trade Statistics.
2. The Board heard how UK trade statistics had been though a major transformation programme since 2016, which had improved the range and reliability of global trade and investment statistics produced. It was noted that users had welcomed the updates provided by ONS, with a number of articles published throughout the year, regarding the impact of the change in January 2022 to the way HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collect data on trade in goods, as a result of the UK leaving the European Union.
3. The Board highlighted that the range of users of trade statistics included the Bank of England, Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Treasury (HMT) in addition to the Department of International Trade.

9. COVID-19 Infection Survey [SA(22)56]

1. Emma Rourke and Ruth Studley introduced a paper which provided an update on the COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS).
2. The Board heard about the latest insight into the impact of CIS across the country. The CIS had successfully transitioned to a digital first data by 1 August 2022, which had realised a monthly cost saving of £13 million. It was noted the ONS colleagues were working with the UK Health Security Agency regarding potential health monitoring in 2023/24.
3. Fiona Dawe, Joy Preece, Danial Akoubkhani and Vahe Nafilyan joined the meeting to present on the Epidemiology and Surveillance National Core Study outlining all aspects and benefits of the CIS. Ruth Studley went on to present on international comparisons of excess mortality statistics in 2021 and 2022.
4. The Board noted their thanks for an excellent presentation.

10. Economy, Energy, Health [SA(22)57]

1. Hugh Stickland, Steffan Jones (Cabinet Office) and Vahe Nafilyan presented an overview of the work across ONS in conjunction with Other Government Departments to provide data and insight on a series of risk areas including the Economy, Energy and Health.
2. The Board heard about the work by the ONS Analytical Hub working in partnership with the Joint Data and Analysis Centre in Cabinet Office. The range of work covered: health, energy supply, cost of living, supply chain disruption and labour market shortages, drawing on a range of data and expertise to provide relevant and timely insight on key priorities to inform policy decisions and the public.
3. The Board noted their thanks for an excellent presentation.

11. Integrated Data Service [SA(22)58]

1. Alison Pritchard introduced a paper which provided an update on key elements of the Integrated Data Programme (IDP) and the delivery of the IDS.
2. Progress on the delivery of the IDS since the last meeting included the consolidation of a group of users made up of government departments and Devolved Administrations; the establishment of an Analytical Steering Group with Osama Rahman (Director of Data Science Campus) as co-chair; ingestion of data with plans to include Census 2021 data towards the end of the year; and progress towards Digital Economy Act accreditation.
3. Board members noted the update and would remain engaged in the delivery of the IDS.

12. Any other business

1. The next meeting would take place on 21 November.