Statistics and Registration Service Bill

My Lords, as we have heard, this amendment or ones like it have been discussed on many occasions and the Government’s view remains that the Bill already strikes the right balance between providing the board with a clear objective, and wide-ranging duties and powers to deliver on that, while at the same time giving that independent board—and this is a very important point—the flexibility to establish mechanisms, and determine what particular activities it will undertake to ensure that it is fulfilling those responsibilities. Amendment No. 5 would require the board to promote the co-ordination of planning for and production of official statistics and the production of official statistics that are consistent across all government departments and all parts of the United Kingdom. On the question of promoting consistency across the UK, the Government recognise that consistent UK-wide statistics are beneficial and desirable. Such consistency means that statistics about the devolved countries can be combined, allowing figures to be produced for the UK and allowing the situation in the different Administrations to be compared. I should therefore note how pleased the Government are that the devolved Administrations have all decided to join the new arrangements. However, some divergence in statistical outputs across the different parts of the UK is to be expected, given the different political, legal and administrative systems and policies across the four nations, many of which existed prior to devolution, which can limit the development of consistent statistics. For example, statistics on education are sometimes not consistent, reflecting the fact that Scottish educational qualifications differ from those in England. In addition, the countries have different characteristics, which can lead to the need for different classifications and definitions. For example, Scotland is less densely populated in parts than England, leading to a demand for a different statistical definition of what it means for an area to be called rural. This means that it may not always be appropriate or desirable that statistics be consistent. If any inconsistency has a material effect on the quality and relevance of the statistics being produced, the board already has mechanisms available to it to help address that. It can take such issues into account in the assessment of national statistics and as part of its wider duty to monitor the quality, comprehensiveness and good practice of official statistics, as set out in Clause 8. Clause 9 requires the board to develop, maintain and promote definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards for official statistics. We would expect that, when appropriate, and taking due account of the specific issues and needs of the different constituent parts of the UK, the board will promote consistent use of such definitions and classifications. On co-ordination, I remind noble Lords that the board already has a statutory objective to promote and safeguard the quality of official statistics, which includes coherence and relevance, comprehensiveness and good practice. To deliver on that objective, the board will need to ensure effective co-ordination across the statistical system, including through establishing mechanisms to ascertain user needs, as well as ways in which to assess the adequacy of statistical work programmes across Government to meet those needs. If the board judges that work programmes are not comprehensive or lack co-ordination, there are a number of ways in which it can seek to address that, including reporting its concerns to Ministers and making its views public, under Clause 8; reporting concerns to Parliament and to the devolved legislatures in its annual report or in a special report, under Clause 24; and, if the board considers that there is a gap in statistical coverage that must be addressed and no other body will deliver statistics to meet the need, the board can produce the statistics itself, as set out in Clause 17. Rather than give the board additional obligations on how it must deliver on its statutory objective, we think it best to leave it to the independent board to determine how best to achieve it, including what mechanisms it will establish to do so. We must remember that this is a statute and that a number of documents will be produced, such as the framework of detailed mechanisms of roles and responsibilities. I hope that that assurance, coupled with what I have said, will enable noble Lords to withdraw the amendment.