The Statistics Commission was a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

established in June 2000 by the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

to oversee the work of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

."Framework for National Statistics", First Edition, Operational from June 2000
/ref> H.M. Treasury press release announcing outcome of White Paper and creation of the Commission
/ref> Its chairman was Professor

David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Place in Edin ...

who succeeded the first chairman, Sir John Kingman, in May 2003.List of Statistics Commissioners
/ref> Although it was non-departmental, the commission was funded by

grant-in-aid A grant-in-aid is money coming from a central government for a specific project. Such funding is usually used when the government and the legislature decide that the recipient should be publicly funded but operate with reasonable independence ...

from the

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.Frequently-asked-questions on the Commission's website
/ref> Following the implementation of the Statistics & Registration Services Act 2007, the commission was abolished. Its functions were to be taken over and considerably enhanced by 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 ...

(UKSA), whose powers began on 1 April 2008 under the chairmanship of Sir

Michael Scholar Sir Michael Charles Scholar, KCB (born 3 January 1942) is a British civil servant and former President of St John's College, Oxford. Personal Life and Education He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge ( B ...

. Professor Rhind is among the non-executive members of the new authority, to which the ONS is accountable. This contrasts with the duties of the previous Commission which were limited to reporting, observing and criticizing ONS while it, until 2008, has been publicly accountable via a Treasury minister.

History

The Commission arose from an

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

commitment by the Labour Government whilst in

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

to provide independent national statistics. The commitment was implemented by the Government first publishing a

Green Paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...

in 1998 inviting consultation which offered four options for overseeing the production of statistics for ministers. The subsequent

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

revealed that, of those four options, the one which received significantly more support than the others was the establishment of a Commission Consequently, in drawing up the new framework for national statistics,Treasury announcement of the Framework document
/ref> the Statistics Commission was established. Its main function is to :''"...give independent, reliable and relevant advice on National Statistics to Ministers and, by so doing, to provide an additional safeguard on the quality and integrity of National Statistics."'' The white paper charged the commission with four principal aims: *To consider and comment to government on National Statistics's programme and scope of work *To comment on National Statistics's

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processes and to arrange

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s where it finds concern *To comment on the application of the code of practice for official statistics *To prepare for the UK

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an annual report on National Statistics and the Commission

Commissioners

The last commissioners were: * Professor David Rhind, formerly

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and President of

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*Ian Beesley, a retired senior partner at

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and Fellow of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

*Sir

Kenneth Calman Sir Kenneth Charles Calman, HonFAcadMEd (born 25 December 1941) is a doctor and academic who formerly worked as a surgeon, oncologist and cancer researcher and held the position of Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, and then England. He was Wa ...

, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of the

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*Janet Trewsdale, chairman of the Northern Ireland Economic Council * Sir Derek Wanless, formerly a director of Northern Rock plc *

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, chairman of the

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Consumer Panel *

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, governor of the

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and

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of the

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Martin Weale Martin Robert Weale (born 4 December 1955) is a British economist. He was educated at Highgate School and Clare College, Cambridge, where he qualified for an MA in Economics, with first-class honours, and was later a fellow from 1981 to 1995. ...

, director of the

National Institute of Economic and Social Research The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), established in 1938, is Britain's oldest independent economic research institute. The institute is a London-based independent UK registered charity that carries out academic researc ...

* Joly Dixon, a retired director at the

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and Fellow of the

The chief executive was Richard Alldritt

References

"Framework for National Statistics", First Edition, Operational from June 2000H.M. Treasury press release announcing outcome of White Paper and creation of the Commission

List of Statistics Commissioners

Frequently-asked-questions on the Commission's website
# #{{cite book, author=H.M. Treasury, date=October 1999, title=Building Trust in Statistics (Command Paper), publisher=The Stationery Office Books, url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=10543&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=272, isbn=0-10-144122-3 , id=Cm. 4412
Treasury announcement of the Framework document

External links

The Statistics Commission's website

The Office for National Statistics' website
Defunct non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Office for National Statistics 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Commissioners

See also

References

External links