The National Statistician’s Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE) plays a role in the governance of economic statistics. The Committee supports the National Statistician by making recommendations and providing advice to them on economic matters relevant to the ONS.
NSCASE supports the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world leading. Specifically, the Committee provides advice to the National Statistician on:
- The suitability of current standards across the ONS’s suite of economic data;
- which standards the UK should adopt in the future, to meet the specific measurement needs of the UK economy, while ensuring international comparability; and
- how the UK should influence the development of future standards.
The advice NSCASE provides to the National Statistician spans the full range of domains in economic statistics, including the National Accounts, fiscal statistics, prices, environmental economic accounting, trade and the balance of payments and labour market statistics. It identifies global measurement best practice and considers how best to meet the imperative for internationally comparable statistics. It also identifies opportunities for statistical innovation and supports statistical producers as they seek to ensure that their statistics accurately capture economic reality.
Copies of the papers presented to the Committee and detailed minutes of each meeting are published four weeks after the date of the meeting. These will be published in minutes and papers.
The objectives of this Committee are rooted in the Statistics and Registration Service Act (2007). This legislation placed responsibility for statistical standards, methodologies and classifications with the newly established UK Statistics Authority. Their main advisor on these matters is the National Statistician. Between 2007 and 2020, this domestic legislative framework operated alongside a range of European laws on statistics.
During this period, the UK had a legal obligation to compile its economic statistics using the frameworks and guidance set out by Eurostat: the statistical office of the European Union (EU). Following the UK’s exit from the EU, we are strengthening the way we produce and quality assure our statistics with new governance arrangements that will support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics.
These governance arrangements support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics. They promote international comparability and add to the credibility and independence of the UK’s statistical system. Drawing on the best domestic and international expertise to address the key measurement challenges of modern economies, we work in partnership with other international statistical organisations to progress these issues on the world stage. Our new governance arrangements help to achieve the UKSA’s strategic objectives as set out in ‘Statistics for the Public Good’.
2025
- 20 January
- 28 April
- 21 July
- 20 October
Panel membership
In its majority, the National Statistician’s Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE) consists of independent members. The range of expertise and experience of members allows for independent challenge and scrutiny, ensuring advice is impartial and credible.
Martin Weale is Professor of Economics at King’s College London. Martin graduated in 1977 in Economics from Clare College, Cambridge. Martin is an applied economist with an interest in macro-economic and micro-economic problems. He was Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2010 to 2016. Martin is a member of the Office for National Statistic’s Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic Experts Working Group (EEWG). Martin is currently developing work on democratic measures of economic performance.
Robert Heath is a former Deputy Director of the IMF Statistics Department responsible for methodological development in economic statistics, overseeing the publication of IMF statistical manuals and guides including the 6th edition of the Balance of Payments Manual and Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014.
David Caplan is a statistician with extensive experience of the production and use of economic statistics. In the first half of his career, he held a range of posts within the ONS including multiple roles in the national accounts. David then moved on to a range of senior posts including Director of Research and Analysis at the Audit Commission, and, most recently, Head of the Essex Centre for Data Analytics. He also co-founded an economics consultancy.
Paul Mizen is Professor of Monetary Economics at the University of Nottingham where he leads research into use of economic statistics to support policy making at the Bank of England, COBRA, the Cabinet Office, 10 Downing St and various Government Departments; he is an ONS Fellow, member of the Economic Experts Working Group and the Office for National Statistic’s Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
Ian McCafferty is an international economist with senior management experience working in government, business and higher education. He has expertise in public policy-making, financial markets, economic analysis and forecasting. Ian McCafferty was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England from 2012 to 2018. Prior to his appointment, he had been Chief Economic Adviser to the CBI since 2001, following a career as an economist in senior roles in BP and the City. He is currently senior adviser to London Wall Partners, a firm of independent financial advisors, a Senior Adviser to Oxford Economics, and a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London.
Rebecca Riley is Professor of Practice in Economics at King’s Business School. Rebecca is Director of the Office for National Statistic’s Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and is an applied economist focusing on labour markets, industrial organisation, and economic measurement.
Nick Vaughan is a macroeconomist working on innovative finance for development with the Education Commission. Prior to this independent role Nick was Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of Jersey, and previously Chief Economist, and Director for National Accounts and Economic Statistics at the Office for National Statistics 2014-2018 where he led the transformation of economic statistics through the ‘Bean’ review and subsequent development.
Thomas Viegas is currently Partnerships Lead at the Task force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Prior to joining TNFD, Thomas was at the Bank of England where he spent nearly a decade working on and influencing a broad range of UK and global macro-financial policy issues. This included, leading the Bank’s initial approach and strategy to nature-related financial risks. Thomas was also seconded as an Economic Adviser to The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, based at the UK’s Finance Ministry (HMT).
Former members
- Mairi Spowage (from 16 June 2022 to 21 January 2025)
For any queries or advice, please contact the team at nscase@statistics.gov.uk