ONS head Sir Ian Diamond steps down for well being causes after information controversy | EUROtoday

The head of the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), Sir Ian Diamond, has resigned with quick impact attributable to well being causes, at a time when the ONS faces a disaster of confidence in its work.

“Due to ongoing health issues, Sir Ian has decided he is unable to give the full commitment he would like to drive the organisation forward,” the ONS mentioned.

Last month, a report from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) laid out its considerations in regards to the high quality of the ONS’s information.

These considerations targeted on, however weren’t restricted to, the extensively recognised issues with the Labour Force Survey which is used to measure the unemployment fee within the UK.

Dr Sarah Cumbers, chief govt of the Royal Statistical Society, mentioned: “Sir Ian Diamond showed outstanding leadership of the ONS and the wider statistical system during the pandemic, helping to make the UK a world leader in delivering timely data in a rapidly changing environment.”

Dr Cumbers additionally acknowledged the OSR report.

“Given the recent scrutiny of the system, we look forward to engaging with the Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority to consider how the National Statistician role should evolve, and to working with Sir Ian’s successor to address the ongoing challenges,” she mentioned.

The report checked out considerations round enterprise surveys and located that ONS workers weren’t all the time being listened to when flagging rising issues to senior managers.

A insecurity within the high quality of information makes it tougher for the federal government and corporations to make absolutely knowledgeable selections.

Since the pandemic, statistics businesses around the globe have struggled to get the response charges that they wish to guarantee their information is of the standard they want.

The regulator mentioned it will like extra assurance that the ONS has enough steps in place to commonly assessment and enhance pattern design and representativeness, bias, survey methodology, and imputation.