The UK Statistics Assembly
The UK Statistics Authority, in partnership with the Royal Statistical Society, is pleased to invite users, producers and stakeholders to the first UK Statistics Assembly on Wednesday 22 January 2025.
Formed in response to a recommendation in the Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority, the Assembly is a unique opportunity for diverse voices and views, including from central, local and devolved governments, business and industry, academia, civil society and charities, to discuss and advise on the statistical and data priorities for the UK.
The Assembly event
The Assembly will meet publicly at an all-day event on Wednesday 22 January 2025 in central London. Virtual participation is available.
All representatives and users from across the statistical community are welcome to attend.
Registration for in-person attendance closes on 13 January 2025. Registration to attend online closes on 15 January 2025.
Registrations have now closed
The agenda
The full participant pack is now available to view online.
The Assembly agenda has been informed by the call for contributions and developed to reflect user priorities. While recognising that not every single topic requested can be covered, it allows a broad range of perspectives and experiences to be discussed. All sessions will be available to in-person and online attendees.
| Time | Foyer | Plenary | Breakout room A | Breakout room B | Breakout room C | Breakout room D | Breakout room E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Registration, tea, coffee and stalls | ||||||
| 10:00 to 10:20 | Chair’s introductions: Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE Welcome from the hosts: Sir Robert Chote, Chair, UK Statistics Authority and Professor Sir John Aston, President, Royal Statistical Society | ||||||
| 10:20 to 10:25 | Plenary 1: What we heard from the call for contributions Dame Kate Barker, Assembly Delivery Group member | ||||||
| 10:30 to 11:30 | Breakout 1: Economic statistics and measuring progress | Breakout 2: Coherence | Breakout 3: Data sourcing quality and methods | Breakout 4: User engagement | Breakout 5: Health disparities | ||
| 11:30 to 11:50 | Refreshment break and stalls | ||||||
| 11:50 to 12:50 | Breakout 6: Public sector performance | Breakout 7: Data linkage | Breakout 8: Net zero | Breakout 9: Future of the Census | Breakout 10: Business statistics | ||
| 12:50 to 13:50 | Lunch and stalls | ||||||
| 13:50 to 14:50 | Breakout 11: Equalities | Breakout 12: AI and technology | Breakout 13: Crime | Breakout 14: Labour market | Breakout 15: Local and regional data | ||
| 14:50 to 15:10 | Refreshment break and stalls | ||||||
| 15:10 to 15:30 | Plenary 2: International Perspectives Steve MacFeely, Head of Statistics, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Vipin Arora, US Bureau of Economic Analysis; Francesca Kay, Assistant Director General, Central Statistics Office, Ireland | ||||||
| 15:30 to 16:10 | Plenary 3: Feedback from the breakouts Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE | ||||||
| 16:10 to 16:20 | Plenary 4: Next steps Professor David Hand, Chair, National Statisticians Expert User Advisory Committee | ||||||
| 16:20 to 16:30 | Final remarks and Assembly close: Sir Robert Chote and Professor Denise Lievesley |
Those registered for the event in-person or online will have received an email inviting them to sign up to their choice of breakout group. We may change the session timings and topics to reflect attendee interest.
Attend one of the following breakout sessions. What needs to be achieved to ensure the measurement of economic statistics keeps pace with societal and technology changes? Changes such as digital transformation, evolving work patterns and environmental sustainability, all have impacts on the economy and economic statistics. What are the priority topics that need to be coherent between the 4 UK nations? Official statistics are produced by different organisations across the 4 UK nations. Some different data collection approaches are used, and different outputs are produced to meet different user needs in each nation. How do we balance these user needs with the need to conduct analysis of the whole UK and compare parts of it? Do we need an overall strategy for data sourcing to drive quality and resilience and ensure transparency to users? The increasing use of administrative data and alternative data including citizens’ and private sector data, data modelling and other new approaches means statistics are produced from a range of sources. However, this brings new challenges including assessing and transparently communicating quality, risk and reliability. How should the statistics system enhance user engagement and communications to better ensure user needs are met? The Lievesley Review recommended an Assembly as part of a wider need to strengthen engagement and enable users to inform priorities across the UK official statistics system. There is a wide diversity of users and user needs – hence ensuring the official statistics system engages effectively, openly and fairly with all of the potential groups is a challenge. How should we improve measuring health disparities across different communities, including health surveillance and monitoring? Measuring health disparities in the UK is complex due to the interplay of socioeconomic, geographic and demographic factors, and the need for quality, granular data to capture inequalities across diverse communities and regions.Breakout A: 10:30 to 11:30
1. Economic statistics and measuring progress
2. Coherence
3. Data sourcing quality and methods
4. User engagement
5. Health disparities
Attend one of the following breakout sessions. What’s needed to assess the performance of public services, such as the health service? Relevant statistics are needed for public service providers, their users and citizens, to objectively assess performance. What are the levers needed to enable better data sharing and linkage? How should the statistics system communicate with and involve the public on the ethical issues around the extent of data sharing and linking? Sharing existing data across organisations and linking data together enables quicker and more extensive analysis without additional data collection. However it also raises technical issues on data matching, ease of access and software usage and ethical questions about use of personal data. How can we best bring net zero-related official statistics together to tell a coherent and complete story at national and local level? Understanding the UK’s progress towards net zero is likely to be a key requirement in coming years. It is important to ensure the most and coherent statistics are produced. What are the essential quality considerations for the future population and migration statistics system to deliver sustainable, timely statistics about the population? ONS is leading and delivering a programme of research to improve its population and migration statistics. The proposed system, which has administrative data at its core, should enable ONS to produce statistics to meet user needs about the population more frequently and consistently than a traditional census. What data gaps are there in business statistics, for example representation of ethnic minorities, small businesses and more? Robust business statistics are needed to inform a wealth of policy and plans, in areas such as growth, net zero and green jobs, investment, sector-specific support and supply chain analysis.Breakout B: 11:50 to 12:50
6. Public sector performance
7. Data linkage
8. Net zero
9. Future of the Census
10. Business statistics
Attend one of the following breakout sessions. What statistics are needed to monitor equalities, in particular ethnicity? What data collection mechanisms are needed to better address representation and diversity? Equalities monitoring is conducted across a wide range of areas of society such as education, health and business. To be effective, robust and inclusive data collection methods are needed. What are the choices that we should make about the ways in which the UK official statistics system adopts (or does not adopt) AI and other emerging technologies over the coming years? New data-driven technologies, such as AI, are already impacting on official statistics and users, changing the ways in which statistics are produced, communicated and used. The pace of development and adoption of such technologies is expected to continue to accelerate. Is there anything a single crime measure could add to better inform decision-makers and the public? Given the forever changing nature of crime and its impact on victims, official statistics are produced by separate crime types, with a number of programmes looking to improve these measures. How can labour market statistics measure the future labour market by best using surveys, administrative data and other data sources? Response rates to social surveys are falling internationally raising the discussion about whether mandating survey completion would be effective. This is happening at the same time as new data sources are becoming available and changes to the labour market itself with the growth of the ‘gig economy’ and concerns about the impact of economic inactivity. How can data and statistics from local and combined authorities benefit national policymaking? What does the statistical system need to do to support these and other organisations in achieving this? Local and combined authorities have a wealth of data that could be used outside their own organisations, with the right systems, culture and support to harness this data effectively.Breakout C: 13:50 to 14:50
11. Equalities
12. AI and technology
13. Crime
14. Labour market
15. Local and regional data
Call for contributions
We held a public call for contributions to inform the Assembly event agenda, from September to November 2024. The response to the call for contributions is now available to read.
Following the Assembly event
Insights from the Assembly will be drawn together in a published report, indicating user priorities and data gaps reported at the event and how system priorities could be influenced by these.
This will inform delivery planning for official statistical producers in government departments and public bodies, as well as the Authority’s next five-year strategy. It may also identify fresh opportunities for non-official statistics to be used to complement official ones for the public good.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the UK Statistics Assembly, please get in touch with us at assembly@statistics.gov.uk.