Dear William,
Thank you so much for your help with the launch of our new strategy ‘Statistics for the Public Good’. I wanted to now write to your formally to let you and your Committee know that we have published it today.
Statistics and data have never been as necessary for the public good as they have in recent months; indeed, we delayed the release of our new strategy to focus all our attention on meeting both the need for information about the COVID-19 pandemic. I am hugely proud of the work done by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and across the Government Statistical Service (GSS). They have shown the strength
and value of our statistical system.
But there is more to do. In many ways the work of the past few months has accelerated plans that were already in train, the use of joined up administrative data in particular. Joined up government can’t happen without joined up data and statistics.
We have set out in our strategy how we aim to inform the UK, improve lives and build the future, through four core principles. We will be radical, ambitious, inclusive and sustainable in all that we do over the next five years.
A key part of each of these principles is better communication, and of course, our independence of Government and accountability to Parliament.
I hope there will be an opportunity to discuss this new strategy and more with you and your Committee later in the year.
Yours sincerely,
Sir David Norgrove