1. The UK’s new Code of Practice for Statistics
Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation, UK
June 2018
Session 8

2. The Office for Statistics Regulation
We regulate all UK’s official statistics
We are the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority
We set the Code of Practice
We assess compliance with the Code

3. Why change the UK’s Code of Practice?
Abundant data
Quality concerns
Post truth

4. Statistics at their worst: a walled garden

5. Our philosophy: The three pillars
Trustworthiness
Honesty & integrity
Independent decision making
Orderly release
Transparent process & management
Professional capability
Data governance
Quality
Suitable data sources
Sound methods
Assured quality
Value
Relevance to users
Accessibility
Clarity & insight
Innovation & improvement
Efficiency & proportionality
People, systems, processes
Robust data, method and statistics
Statistics that serve the public good

6. Imagine you are a subsistence farmer –
You grow onions
You want to vary your diet
Who do you trade with?
Farmer A:
Offers turnips
Poor track record
Farmer B:
Offers turnips
Good track record
Farmer C:
Offers strawberries
Good track record

8. Trustworthiness
“Onora O’Neill argued that, rather than aiming to build trust, the task should be to become trustworthy—this means demonstrating competence, honesty and reliability.
But you also have to provide usable evidence that allows others to check whether you are trustworthy, which necessitates making yourself vulnerable to the other party.”
(Sir David Spiegelhalter)

9. Quality
Quality – statistics should be the best available measure of what they aim to represent, and should not be materially misleading
Data sources:
Where are the data from and what do they measure?
Methods:
How are the data processed into statistics?
Assurance:
What is the assurance that data are robust and reliable?

11. Value Relevance to users Accessible to all Clarity and insight
..statistics that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and made available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to honour citizens’ entitlement to public information
(UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics)
Relevance to users
Accessible to all
Clarity and insight
Innovation
Efficiency

12. The Code of Practice: Who is it for?
Beneficiaries:
People who use statistics to support decisions and judgements
Users:
Organisations that produce government statistics
Users of government statistics
Other producers of data and analysis
This is your code, your input has been invaluable throughout the process of refreshing the Code – through the Code Stocktake, focus groups and the consultation on the draft Code. It supports your work and helps you understand what is expected of you.
Statistics are a public asset, the public must have confidence in them.
There is no point in publishing statistics that do not command confidence. So the Code is built around the commitments that support confidence – crystallised into three pillars:
Trustworthiness: Confidence in people and organisations that produce statistics and data
Quality: Data and methods that produce assured statistics
Value: Statistics that support society’s needs for information
It provides the foundations for building public confidence

13. The UK’s new Code of Practice for Statistics
Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation, UK
June 2018
Session 8