The governance of the UK’s statistical system was under intense surveillance as senior lawmakers accused the former Director of Statistics (ONS) of running his organization like “Prince Medici Hybrid and Blofeld Hybrid.”
In the first session of the UKSA’s work investigation, Simon Hoare, chairman of the Administrative and Constitutional Committee, said the UK Statistics Governance Committee had shown no urgency in addressing the issue of ONS output and internal running, which has developed for over five years.
Ian Diamond, who resigned as a national statistician in May after increasing issues regarding the quality of key economic data, said, “were able to pull wool in the eyes of the minister and the board of directors.”
He added that Diamond appears to operate the organization as “something like a hybrid of Prince Medici and Blofeld,” referring to the James Bond villain, adding that “he doesn’t seem to have any dislike or interest in what everyone has to say.”
“Frankly, I don’t think I have the most cloudy idea of what the board is doing and whether it did what it was supposed to do,” Huare said Tuesday after questioning Uksa chair Sir Robert Choat and Director of Statistics Regulation, Ed Hanferson.
North Dorsett Rep. Simon Hoare said the issue would bring the House of Commons back to us, “securing the guards.”
The Cabinet Office and the UKSA have already pledged to split the role of national statisticians and strengthen the internal control of the ONS following an independent review led by Sir Robert DeVerou.
Devereux presented the split as a temporary measure, saying it may need to be rethinked in the long term.
Diamond resigned shortly after the UK Bureau of Statistics appointed Devereux to review the agency’s leadership, culture and structure after a series of errors and delays in economic indicators, citing health issues.
Choate told lawmakers he realized he had “better” and “started his turn sooner.” “But that judgment is easier to make judgments in hindsight than in the moment,” he added.
Hoare said that “basic organizational change” is needed as a result of Diamond’s leadership, including the relationship between the ONS and the government, and that there is “better clarity about what the board should do.”
Sir Robert Choate: “We had concerns, we heard concerns, we responded gradually to them.” ©House of Commons
Hoare questioned the UKSA’s role in dealing with the decline in response rates in several major surveys, saying the board “provided no challenge” to ONS, adding that “what is given is needed.”
Chote replied: “We had concerns and we heard concerns. We gradually responded and asked for an unusual review to see this.”
The Workforce Survey (LFS) response rate plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic, further declined when the pandemic booster sample was removed in 2023, creating key indicators such as unemployment rates.
PACAC lawmakers questioned why the UKSA board had no idea of the extent of the LFS issues before the response rate had fallen. As ONS had to suspend its publication, the board asked whether it was “not aggressive enough, not aware or not notified.”
Chote said the board did not talk about the crisis in the workforce survey until just before the data was pulled, but since then it had a process of monitoring response rates across all ONS surveys.
Diamond told the Congressional Treasury Committee in February that the board’s report from December 2022 was “very clear about the challenges the workforce survey has been showing,” and provided a monthly report on LFS since early 2024.
Emma Rourke, Interim National Statistician ©House of Commons
ONS has taken steps to increase the reliability of the data while developing a broader plan to enhance research recovery plans and economic statistical output.
“When the report speaks to culture, that won’t be resolved in the months I’m in this position,” interim national statistician Emma Rourke said.
The issue “I think it brings us back to someone who guards us,” Hoare said.
FT was unable to reach the diamond due to comments.
