Sir Andrew William Dilnot, (born 19 June 1960) is a Welsh

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and broadcaster. He was formerly the Director of the

Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's aim is to "a ...

from 1991 to 2002, and was Principal of

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

between 2002 and 2012. As of September 2012 he is Warden of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...

. He served as Chair of the

UK Statistics Authority cy, Y Bwrdd Ystadegau , seal = , logo = UK Statistics Authority logo.svg , formed = , jurisdiction = United Kingdom , headquarters = 1 Drummond Gate London SW1V 2QQ , employees = 3685 , budget = £256m (2018) , minister1_name = Jeremy ...

from April 2012 until March 2017.Chair of the Statistics Authority

Early life and education

Dilnot attended

Olchfa School Olchfa School ( cy, Ysgol Gyfun yr Olchfa) is the largest secondary school in Swansea, South Wales, with approximately 1,700 pupils, including 357 in the Sixth Form. Situated in Sketty Park to the west of Sketty, it provides secondary educatio ...

, Swansea, a state

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

.He studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

Career

Dilnot was Director of the

from 1991 to 2002. Dilnot was a presenter on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's programme about statistics '' More or Less''. Many of the items on the programme deal with the misuse and fabrication of statistics. Dilnot and Michael Blastland wrote '' The Tiger That Isn't'', which was based on ''More or Less''.The Tiger That Isn't pp. 1–5 (Introduction) Dilnot became Principal of

St Hugh's College St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

in 2002, then the only Head of House at an Oxford college educated at a comprehensive school. He became a Pro Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University in 2005. On 16 March 2011, it was announced that "with very mixed emotions" Dilnot was to leave St Hugh's College in September 2012 to become Warden of

, "which will allow me to spend much more time doing economics again." In 2011, the government nominated Dilnot to be Chair of the

. Parliament formally endorsed the appointment on 13 December 2011. Andrew Dilnot is no longer chair of the authority, having stood down in 2017. In 2019, Dilnot became chair of the Health Foundation's oversight board for th
REAL Centre
(formerly Health and Social Care Sustainability Research Centre), which was set up to help health and social care policymakers consider long-term implications of their funding, design and delivery decisions.

Commission on Funding of Care and Support

In June 2010, Dilnot was asked by the government to chair the Commission on Funding of Care and Support. He took a sabbatical from St Hugh's College from March to July 2011. The commission published its report in July 2011. The commission's primary recommendation was to limit individuals' contribution to social care costs to £35,000, after which the state would pay. Currently, individuals who do not fit means-tested criteria can be liable for unlimited costs. The commission's report was welcomed by Health Secretary

Andrew Lansley Andrew David Lansley, Baron Lansley, (born 11 December 1956) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who previously served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Secretary of State for Health and Leader of the H ...

, and both

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

and

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...

called for cross-party talks on the issue.

Honours

Dilnot was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2000 and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to Economics and Economic Policy. He is an Honorary Fellow of

, Queen Mary, University of London, the Swansea Institute of Higher Education and the

Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute and ...

, and holds an Honorary Doctorate from City University and the Open University.

References

External links

University of Sheffield
Knoop Lecture 2014 (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilnot, Andrew 1960 births Living people British economists Principals of St Hugh's College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Pro-Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford British radio personalities British television presenters Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Academics of University College London Academics of the London School of Economics People associated with Queen Mary University of London Channel 4 people People educated at Olchfa School People educated at Maidstone Grammar School Wardens of Nuffield College, Oxford