PACAC evidence session on the Review into the UK Statistics Authority
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee will next week take evidence from Professor Denise Lievesley CBE, and Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe, as it continues its Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base inquiry.
Professor Lievesley was commissioned to conduct a review of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in June 2023, with the aim of establishing how the organisation is performing.
Meeting details
Professor Lievesley’s final report was submitted to Baroness Neville-Rolfe in January 2024, but neither her report nor the Government’s response have yet been published, despite concerns expressed by the Committee.
In previous evidence sessions of their inquiry, PACAC heard that statistics can be misused in public debate. The Committee is likely to raise this in Tuesday’s hearing and consider whether the Ministerial Code should be strengthened to encourage the appropriate use of evidence in public life.
The cross-party Committee is also likely to probe the comparability of statistics across the Union, asking whether the harmonisation of UK-wide data is sufficiently resourced, and whether Government is sufficiently transparent in its use of evidence.