Regulation Committee

The role of the Regulation Committee is to help shape the regulation strategy and work programme and to oversee the programme of assessment of sets of official statistics against the Code of Practice, and other work related to regulation.

The Regulation Committee meets at least quarterly, in the absence of staff involved in the production of statistics, to safeguard the independence of regulatory decisions.

Terms of Reference (February 2023)

Introduction

  1. On 1 April 2008, the UK Statistics Authority formally assumed its powers under the Statistics and Registration Service Act (2007). The Authority was given the statutory objective of “promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good”.
  2. In 2009 the Authority agreed to constitute a sub-committee which would meet with the specific purpose of considering draft Assessment reports. It would be known as the Assessment Committee. At its meeting of 5 March 2013 [SA(13)13] the Authority Board agreed to further formalise the Assessment Committee’s role, including that it may initiate and approve Assessment Reports. At its meeting of 2 October 2014, the Authority Board agreed that the Assessment Committee would be renamed ‘Regulation Committee’ to best reflect its functions. At its meeting of 31 October 2019, the Authority Board agreed that provisions relating to the budget of the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and the publication of minutes also be included.

Roles and responsibilities

  1. The role of the Regulation Committee is to help shape the regulation strategy and to oversee the programme of Assessment of sets of official statistics against the Code of Practice plus other work related to Assessment and regulation, thereby contributing to achievement of the Authority’s strategic objectives.
  2. Specific responsibilities of the Committee include to:
    • oversee the Assessment of whether sets of official statistics are compliant with the Code of Practice for Statistics;
    • determine whether sets of official statistics may be designated National Statistics or not and approve Assessment Reports for publication, subject to the agreement of the Chair of the Authority acting on behalf of the Authority Board;
    • monitor progress by producers in meeting the requirements for designation as National Statistics and in responding to suggestions for improvement, taking appropriate enforcement action where necessary;
    • initiate individual Assessment Reports and make recommendations to the Board of the Authority on the overall programme of which official statistics should be assessed and re-assessed;
    • keep the Code of Practice for Statistics under review and make proposals to the Board of the Authority in respect of any revisions;
    • oversee the regulatory function’s Monitoring programme, initiate individual Monitoring Reviews, and make recommendations to the Board of the Authority on the overall programme of Monitoring and on appropriate actions from individual Reviews;
    • recommend the budget of the Office for Statistics Regulation to the Authority Board for approval, and monitor progress against the OSR work programme and business plan; and
    • review other work produced by the Director General for Regulation and to make recommendations to the Authority Chair on these matters.

Meetings

  1. The Regulation Committee will meet at least quarterly. The Chair of the Regulation Committee may convene additional meetings as are deemed necessary.
  2. The minutes of the meetings of the Regulation Committee are kept by the Committee Secretary. Draft minutes, once approved by the Committee Chair, will be sent to all members.
  3. The approval of the minutes of the previous meeting will be on the agenda of every meeting of the Regulation Committee and once approved as a true record (subject to any amendments) will be signed and dated by the Chair (or their nominee if absent).
  4. From October 2019, the approved minutes and meeting agenda will then be published on the Authority’s website.

Reporting

  1. The Committee will ensure its work does not duplicate work elsewhere in the Authority and will be guided by the priorities of the Authority Board. The Committee will provide the following to the Authority Board:
    • reports following each meeting of the Committee;
    • other reports and proposals, as agreed with the Authority Chair; and
    • an annual report on the committee’s activities and the contribution made toward meeting the Authority’s strategic objectives.
  1. The Committee will receive:
    • progress reports from the Director General for Regulation for each committee meeting; and
    • other briefing from the Director General for Regulation on ad hoc or emerging issues with official statistics such as the committee requires.

Membership

  1. This Committee will meet in the absence of statistical producers, consistent with the statutory requirement for the separation of statistical production and assessment.
  2. The members of the Regulation Committee as agreed by the Authority Board are:
    • three or more Non-Executive members of the Statistics Authority; and
    • the Director General for Regulation.
  1. Senior staff leading Assessment or Monitoring programmes will be in attendance.
  2. Secretariat will be provided by the staff of the UK Statistics Authority.

Quorum and voting

  1. Committee meetings will be considered quorate when three members are present including the Chair of the Regulation Committee or their delegated nominee.
  2. Substitutes will not be permitted to attend Committee meetings unless with express invitation from the Chair of the Regulation Committee.
  3. In the event of a vote the Chair of the Regulation Committee or their delegated nominee will:
    • reserve the right to consult all non-executive members before such a vote is held; and
    • where a voted is tied, exercise a casting vote.

Review of effectiveness

  1. In order to ensure that it continues to add value and follow best practice, the Committee will carry out a review of its effectiveness each year and will also review its terms of reference annually.

Robert Bumpstead, Secretariat, October 2019

Agreed by the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, 31 October 2019

Membership of the Regulation Committee (from February 2023)

Current members

Member Joined
Penny Young (Chair) From April 2023
Sir Robert Chote (UK Statistics Authority Chair) From June 2022
Mr Ed Humpherson (Director General for Regulation) From January 2014
Professor Dame Carol Propper From April 2023
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter From July 2021

Past members

Member Length of committee membership
Mr Richard Dobbs From July 2020 to May 2023
Professor Jonathan Haskel From April 2016 to February 2023
Ms Helen Boaden From October 2019 to December 2022
Professor Anne Trefethen (Chair) From September 2018 to December 2022 (Chair for February 2019)
Ms Sian Jones From April 2022 to May 2022
Sir David Norgrove From April 2017 to March 2022
Professor Sir Adrian Smith From July 2015 to November 2018
Dame Colette Bowe From March 2010 to March 2018
Dame Moira Gibb From May 2009 to January 2010
Professor David Hand From May 2013 to April 2021
Professor David Rhind From May 2009 to May 2015
Mr Richard Alldritt From May 2009 to September 2013
Mr Partha Dasgupta From September 2012 to May 2014
Sir Andrew Dilnot From April 2012 to November 2015

Penny Young (Chair) – Non-Executive Director, Statistics Authority

Sir Robert Chote – Chair, UK Statistics Authority

Mr Ed Humpherson – Director General for Regulation

Professor Dame Carol Propper – Non-Executive Director, Statistics Authority

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter – Non-Executive Director, Statistics Authority

  • Thursday 16 February 2023
  • Thursday 20 April 2023
  • Thursday 13 July 2023
  • Thursday 12 October 2023
  • Thursday 14 December 2023
  • Thursday 1 February 2024
  • Thursday 11 April 2024
  • Thursday 6 June 2024
  • Thursday 11 July 2024
  • Thursday 19 September 2024
  • Thursday 7 November 2024