UK Stats Regulator Issues Advice

The UK's Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, has outlined its expectation on how government and other official bodies should produce and use management information when responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

The information is needed to inform the government on operational delivery and policy decisions, and includes data on how to manage hospital capacity, or on how to process the increased volume of benefit claimants. According to the OSR, when this type of management information is used publicly to inform parliament, the media and the public, it should be published in an accessible form, with appropriate explanations of context and sources. In cases where management information is quoted and is relevant to public debate, OSR says it will consider a public intervention to highlight any failures to uphold equality of access.

On those occasions when ministers refer in passing to the management information they have access to when responding to questions, OSR says it will be proportionate in judging when it will step in, and will distinguish between a one-off use that is marginal to the issues of interest, and those figures that are material to public debate.

'With increased scrutiny of all decisions, and a greater thirst for timely information from the media and the public, it is unsurprising that ministers and other public figures find themselves quoting management information in public forums, such as in parliament and in media interviews. It is right that ministers have access to up to date information. It is also right that this information is shared with the media and the public, but it remains important this is done in a way that promotes transparency and clarity. Otherwise it has the potential to cause confusion and undermine confidence in the statistics and organisations that produce them', the OSR said in its guidance statement.

Web site: www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.