1. Independence and a matter of trust David Marder Head of Media Relations ONS, United Kingdom

2. A sceptical audience Independence and ethical behaviour must be at the core of any platform to build trust It is a simple truth that to be trusted you must show that you are trustworthy and you must also show trust in others In the UK, however, the level of scepticism has reached such a depth that institutional change in itself will not achieve the desired shift in attitude

3. Public confidence A third of people (33 per cent) thought figures were not generally accurate Nearly six in ten (57 per cent) disagreed that figures were produced without political interference A similar proportion (58 per cent) disagreed that the government uses figures honestly Of those that disagreed that figures were accurate nearly half (47 per cent) included a view that figures were manipulated for political purposes Public confidence in official statistics, ONS 2008

4. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 Creates a new independent authority accountable direct to the UK Parliament and whose objective is to promote and safeguard: –The production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good; and –The quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of official statistics

5. Leaders in independence Sir Michael Scholar – Chair of the new UK Statistics Authority Karen Dunnell – National Statistician

6. Some key points A new Code of Practice Independent assessment role A new look at pre-release access Data-sharing Statistical publication hub... But how do we deliver ‘the public good’, confidence and trust...

7. Earning trust Where there is no trust... Rise of influence of single issue groups Rejection of the official voice Erosion of civic society Trust in Government (Opinion Leader Research) April 2006

8. What happened to trust? We don't trust less, we trust differently No longer an age of deference We've moved to an age of reference

9. Who is trusted? Authority of institution has been eroded and switched to: –people we know, who know –'my media' We choose PEOPLE we can trust and then find the CONTEXT in which we can trust them

10. Views of ‘opinion-formers’ Opinion-formers say the quality of UK official statistics is up there with the best in the world The problem of mistrust as they see it: –current political climate of mistrust –politicisation of official statistics –prior access by Ministers –spin = political marketing ("it's my job to create the truth" - Peter Mandelson) Ipsos-MORI - Official Statistics: Perception and Trust (May 2006)

11. The spiral of distrust Divergence syndrome –Something expected to be positive turned out to be negative –Something thought be constant turns out to be finite The disconnect between expectations and experience Doesn't connect with 'me and my world'

12. Shoot the messenger The media: –Statistics make easy and powerful stories –... But –taken out of context –exaggerated –misrepresented The effect: –skews trust –creates misunderstanding

13. Media – most powerful stakeholders Media v. statistics – the battle zone: never let the facts get in the way of the story if it's not interesting - it's not news no change = no news Build bridges with the media to create less ambiguous coverage

14. How can you gain trust? To earn trust... first you have to give trust –mutual respect –accessible information –Adult-to-adult Behaviours that are trustworthy –consistent –authentic –human –engaging

15. New kinds of influence The social influencer: charismatic no apparent agenda not patronising accessible appears to know engaging and likeable personal and relevant represents... the truth

16. Standing in the shoes Stand in the shoes of the audience and ask: –'What does this mean to me?' –'Do I trust these people?'

17. A voice from the past... facts are essential to the formation of views... prejudice is combatted by reason... policies are explained to be understood Sir Kenneth Grubb, Ministry of Information 1941-46

18. Transparency, accessibility and clarity Independence is not a magic bullet Statisticians must not only act independently but be seen to be independent Probity is not sufficient in itself Transparency, accessibility and clarity are all equally important –Clearer explanation of the information produced is probably even more useful to users than increasing the range

19. Searching the depths