OFFICE OF THE CHIEF STATISTICIAN BUSINESS PLAN
Introduction
1. The Scottish Government's approach to the production of statistics is based on the following principles:
· Integrating statistics with economic analysis and social research in Analytical Services Divisions and close to policy functions,
· complementing this with a central resource in the Office of the Chief Statistician,
· working together across these units on a wide range of issues - partly through collective analytical services efforts and partly through the SG Statistician Group,
· semi autonomous production of certain statistics in NRS and ISD and several other Executive Agencies,
· collaboration with statisticians in UK Government and the other devolved administrations.
2. Across the Scottish Government our planning processes involve the following:
· planning by each ASD and the central units through annual business plans
· planning by corporate groups and networks on a range of issues
· consultation with internal and external users
· an emphasis on process rather than documentation, given the limited demand for the latter.
3. This document sets out the business plan for the Office of the Chief Statistician and should be considered in conjunction with ASD plans available on the SG website.
4. OCS plans on an iterative basis. From November 2011 the Office of the Chief Statistician also includes the Corporate Research Team and the Scotland Performs Policy branch and may shortly change its name to reflect these broader functions. The work of these newly merged branches are not included in this iteration of the plan, and the name Office of the Chief Statistician is used throughout.
Aims and objectives
5. As part of the Scottish Government the Statistician Group works to achieve the National Outcome that "Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs."
6. We also work as part of the Government Statistical Service and aim to comply with all the principles of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics and the statutory requirements of the Statistics & Registration Service Act. The Act places an emphasis on the "production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good".
7. We therefore have three main aims
· Firstly, to ensure production and use of accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive and meaningful statistics needed to inform and support the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes by Government at all levels
· Secondly, to meet the broader need for government statistics
o to inform the Scottish Parliament and public about the state of the nation and the performance of government, to allow the impact of government policies to be assessed and support the accountability of government
o to provide business and other public bodies with statistics on public matters needed for them to operate efficiently and effectively
o to provide researchers, analysts, other customers and the general public with statistics needed to assist their work and studies
o to provide the statistics required to meet international obligations and facilitate comparisons between Scotland and other countries
· And thirdly, to ensure that official statistics meet international standards and build public trust and confidence in statistics by
o achieving the highest standards of professional independence, integrity and openness
o continuously improving the quality, accessibility, comparability and coherence of statistics
o working in collaboration with other government analysts to promote a holistic approach to the production of evidence
o achieving efficiency and effectiveness in collection and production, eliminating unnecessary burden on data providers
o involving users and other stakeholders in planning, quality assurance, interpretation and use of statistics.
Priorities
8. Our priorities are arrived at through consideration of the Code of Practice and the needs and views of users of statistics, both within and outwith Scottish Government.
9. Through-out 2011 there has been increasing demand for work relating to data linkage and supporting alternatives to the Census and a refresh of the National Performance Framework indicators. These are our current priorities, alongside continued work to maintain and improve statistical standards, particularly in relation to dissemination.
10. Demand for improvement in methods and quality, and for comparable statistics across the UK is relatively weak and mainly amongst a relatively small number of expert users. There is continuing strong, usually implicit, demand for greater accuracy, specifically to allow better measurement of change over time. This can be very challenging without incurring substantial increase in resource and therefore costs. There also remains a constant demand for faster production to increase timeliness and for sub Scotland level statistics.
Activities and Timescales
14. The detailed plan can be accessed by clicking here. Unlike previous versions, it is organised by strategic objective rather than by branch. This reflects our move towards more flexible working across the division. The seven strategic aims of OCS are to:
- Ensure effective and efficient monitoring and reporting of progress towards outcomes and of performance at local level;
- Improving planning and liaison with external interests and increase engagement with external interests;
- Work together with other UK administrations to share best practice and develop comparability, and to ensure Scottish interests are dealt with appropriately by UK Government;
- Improve quality, efficiency, effectiveness and relevance of statistics;
- Ensure compliance with the Statistics & Registration Service Act and Code of Practice for Official Statistics;
- Improve the dissemination, use and understanding of statistics;
- Lead and manage the Statistics profession and ensure effective deployment of statistical staff.
15. Comments and suggestions are welcome from all users of statistics and interested stakeholders. Please either email your comments to statistics.enquiries@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Office of the Chief Statistician
November 2011