1 / 7

Strengthening central authority in a decentralised system

Strengthening central authority in a decentralised system. Karen Dunnell National Statistician, UK. Contents. Background and History Current organisation of UK statistics Assessment of decentralised systems, in general and in the UK The way forward for UK statistics.

yakov
Télécharger la présentation

Strengthening central authority in a decentralised system

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Strengthening central authority in a decentralised system Karen Dunnell National Statistician, UK

  2. Contents • Background and History • Current organisation of UK statistics • Assessment of decentralised systems, in general and in the UK • The way forward for UK statistics

  3. Background and History • Organisation of statistics in UK government developed piecemeal • Creation of Central Statistical Office during Second World War • Emphasis on professional standards in the late 1960s • Devolution (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) in the late 1990s

  4. Current organisation of statistics in the UK • ONS employs a fifth of the professional statisticians in government • Remaining statisticians are employed in 30 separate departments and agencies • ONS co-ordinates and leads the production of statistics in the UK • Geographical dispersion of statisticians • Recent movement towards “Information Centres”

  5. Decentralised systems in general .. Characteristic • Professional staff working in each Department • Closeness to administrative systems • Closeness to policy makers and Ministers • System-wide statistical planning • Adherence to standards Analysis • Ensures statistical expertise is available • Ensures that details are well understood • Opportunity to influence, but also to be influenced • ‘Planning’ tends to be bottom-up • Tends to be more difficult as governance is less direct

  6. … and specifically in the UK • GSS statisticians are valued in government for their expertise and professionalism • “Inappropriate influence” – mainly about perceptions • “bottom-up planning” – has prevailed. Particular concern has been coherence of some UK statistics • “adherence to standards” – UK National Statistics Code of Practice forcibly introduced by Len Cook, though compliance is patchy

  7. The way forward for UK statistics • Parliament is considering statistics legislation to strengthen governance arrangements whilst respecting Devolution and maintaining out-bedded statistics • UK-wide oversight is likely to improve the quality of planning • A statutory Code of Practice • Improved arrangements between UK government and Devolved Administrations • Other non-statutory steps to improve public confidence

More Related