A report described the main developments in government statistics in Scotland in 2004-05, and the action taken to meet the requirements of the National Statistics Code in terms of quality, integrity, and professional development.
Source: Chief Statistician s Annual Report 2005, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
The statistics watchdog said that the Home Office should be stripped of responsibility for publishing crime statistics, because public trust in the figures had been eroded, partly by departmental manipulation of their timing and context.
Source: Crime Statistics: User perspectives - interim report, Statistics Commission (020 7273 8008)
Links: Report | StatComm press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Dec
The government announced that the Office for National Statistics was to be made fully independent of the government. An independent board would be created, drawn from experts in statistics from business and academia and answerable to Parliament.
Source: Speech by Gordon Brown MP (Chancellor of the Exchequer), 28 November 2005
Links: Text of speech | ONS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Nov
The National Statistician announced that a new National Statistics Centre for Demography would be created within the Office for National Statistics on 31 January 2006. It would be responsible for the co-ordination and production of population statistics and demographic analysis for the United Kingdom.
Source: Press release 1 November 2005, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
The statistics watchdog called for an audit-based approach, under the leadership of the National Statistician, as the basis for sound quality management and trust in official figures. There should be greater emphasis on fitness for purpose , and clearer quality standards covering the design, production and dissemination of statistics and analysis.
Source: Managing the Quality of Official Statistics, Report 27, Statistics Commission (020 7273 8008)
Links: Report (pdf) | StatComm press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
An article said that the addition of 2001 Census data to the ONS Longitudinal Study created new possibilities for analyzing inter-generational transmission and change, in addition to new topics such as religion and self-reported health.
Source: Louisa Blackwell, Bola Akinwale, Angela Antonatos and John Haskey, 'Opportunities for new research using the post-2001 ONS Longitudinal Study', Population Trends 121, Autumn 2005, Office for National Statistics, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Article (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
The statistics watchdog published its annual report for 2004-05. It called for greater openness about the reliability of official data.
Source: Annual Report 2004-2005, Cm 6570, Statistics Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jul
The National Statistician announced that he had accepted the principles and the key recommendations set out in the Atkinson review of the measurement of government output and productivity. The Atkinson agenda would be taken forward within the Office for National Statistics by a new UK Centre for the Measurement of Government Activity.
Source: Press release 19 July 2005, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jul
The Office of Public Sector Information was launched. The new body (attached to the Cabinet Office) was given responsibility for providing consistent and transparent processes for potential 're-users' to gain access to public sector information including the provision of online access to legislation, and licensing the re-use of Crown copyright material.
Source: Press release 16 May 2005, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release | OPSI homepage
Date: 2005-May
The Parliamentary Ombudsman today published a special report on the monitoring of the code of practice on access to government information.
Source: Access to Official Information: Monitoring of the non-statutory codes of practice 1994-2005, 1st Report (Session 2005-06), HC 59, Parliamentary Ombudsman (020 7217 4051)
Links: Report | Ombudsman press release
Date: 2005-May
An article described a methodology used to create three sets of 'consistent areas through time' (CATTs) that could be used for analysing comparable small-area data from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses in Scotland.
Source: Daniel Exeter, Paul Boyle, Zhiqiang Feng, Robin Flowerdew and Nick Schierloh, 'The creation of Consistent Areas Through Time (CATTs) in Scotland, 1981 2001', Population Trends 119, Spring 2005, Office for National Statistics, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Article (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
A report highlighted areas where official statistics had gained the confidence of the public, and also areas where confidence needed to be increased. On the whole there was more confidence in the quality of official statistics than in the delivery. There was concern that there was interference at certain stages of the statistical process, particularly in determining statistical definitions and choosing which statistics to collect.
Source: Maryanne Kelly, Public Confidence in British Official Statistics, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (pdf) | Links to detailed reports | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Feb
A report by the statistics watchdog examined the way key opinion-formers viewed official statistics. On the whole, the interviewees believed that the quality of official statistics compared well with the best in the world: but there was a recognition that scope still existed for improvement.
Source: Official Statistics: Perceptions and Trust, Report 24, Statistics Commission (020 7273 8008)
Links: Report (pdf) | StatComm press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Feb