New body aims to take spin out of statistics

Sir Michael Scholar, head of Britain's new Statistics Authority, aims to take the politics out of official data and believes this week will mark a turning point.

From April 1, his authority will replace the disbanded Statistics Commission, making the governance of national data independent of ministerial control for the first time.

"From tomorrow, ministers are out of it," Scholar told Reuters. "It should make a great difference to the level of public trust in statistics."

Britons' confidence in official data is at a low ebb. A recent survey by the Office for National Statistics showed only one in five people thought figures were compiled without political interference.

While the old Commission was answerable to the government, the new authority will be answerable only to parliament and will be represented by an all-party select committee.

The Statistics Authority will oversee all 1,300 national statistics, including politically-sensitive figures such as hospital waiting times, immigration flows and unemployment rates.

From Tuesday, these figures will be available on the authority's Web site (www.statistics.gov.uk) in a way, Scholar hopes, that will be accessible and free from political commentary.

CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE

"We're starting against a very poor background of public trust," said Scholar. "British statistics are held in high regard internationally but public confidence here is lower than in any other European (Union) country."

A European Commission poll of public trust in government statistics ranked Britain 27th out of 27 countries.

"What we want to achieve is both the reality and the belief that these numbers are produced without pressure of any kind," he said. "Our biggest challenge is rebuilding public trust."

Critics have questioned how independent the new system can be when around four-fifths of national statistics will continue to be compiled by government departments, even if they are monitored by an independent body.

The fact that Scholar's son Tom was previously Prime Minister Gordon Brown's chief of staff has also not gone unnoticed.

Scholar, however, is determined to take the government to task if necessary and will not shy away from naming departments which he believes fall short. "We will have the power to award and deny the kite mark standard for national statistics," he said. "It should act as a powerful incentive."

The authority that Scholar will chair will include seven independent experts plus as the head of the Office for National Statistics, Karen Dunnell, and its finance director, Steve Newman.