ScotStat Board Meeting Minutes: June 2024

Attendees and apologies

Board members

• Ana Basari (AB)
• Camilla Barnett (CBB)
• John Curtice (JC)
• Susan McVie (SM)
• Ken Roy (KR)
• João Sousa (JS)
• Lucien Staddon Foster (LSF)

Officials/Speakers/Observers

• Catherine Bromley (CB), Public Health Scotland
• Lisa Clark (LC), Office of the Chief Statistician, Secretariat
• Alice Gowenlock (AG), Office of the Chief Statistician, Secretariat
• Rob Kent-Smith (RKS), Office for Statistics Regulation
• Ally McAlpine (AM), Chief Statistician
• Amy Wilson (AW), Head of Justice Analytical Services, Secretariat

Apologies

• Roeland Beerten, Board Member
• Lee Bunce, Office of the Chief Statistician, Secretariat
• Janet Egdell, National Records of Scotland, Speaker

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The aim of this meeting was to define the key objectives and priorities for the board, especially due to the wide remit it covers. The chair emphasised the need to demonstrate value in a short time frame.

Freedom of Information: The Board will be subject to Freedom of Information. This supports the Scottish Governments commitment to transparency and openness. Meeting minutes will be published.

Period of Appointment: The period of the appointment is set to two years, with a review after 18 months of appointment. This is to allow Board Members time to make recommendations and make an impact prior to review

Introduction to devolved statistics

The Chief Statistician provided an overview and introduction to the ScotStat board on devolved statistics in Scotland being produced by Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland on behalf of JE. CB presented an overview of Public Health Scotland.

An overview was presented to the board of the statistical system and of working relationships.

Budget and resourcing are one of the biggest challenges facing the three major statistics providers in Scotland and this should be taken under consideration for any of the Boards recommendations.

Reference was made to the recent Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) paper on Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base.

Introduction to UK statistical system

OSR gave an overview of the UK Statistical system to board members as well as the key roles for the UK Statistics Authority and the Office of Statistics Regulation.

Discussion that followed included the pausing/stopping of statistics to allow for development work – a topic which will be raised with Ed Humpherson after the election, as well as the fact that resources across the Scottish Government are managed at portfolio level and not centralised.

Overview of current devolved statistics

A paper on all analytical work across Scottish Government, National Records of Scotland and Public Health Scotland was reviewed by the board. The document covers fifteen distinct analytical areas.

Limited budget and resources hinder the production of statistical releases, despite some areas being rich in data. Analytical departments consist of various professions with different codes of practice.

Coherence and comparability of statistics across the UK are challenging due to different systems and processes, with Scotland benefiting from comparisons with other nations. The Office of the Chief Statistician focuses on its strategic priorities and community engagement.

Issues raised include the need to reconsider the production of official statistics given resource constraints, the potential of administrative data despite system limitations, and the inconsistency in communication of statistics across the UK.

ScotStat Board options

The co-chairs presented a paper to the board outlining the four potential options to focus on to provide recomendations, advice and critical challenge to the Chief Statistician on the production and dissemination of Scottish devolved statistics.

The Board discussed its remit concerning official statistics, with a focus on the challenges of comparing data across local authorities, health boards, and the broader UK, highlighting limitations such as data from the Department of Work and Pensions.

Key topics included the importance of tackling devolved, reserved, and comparable data, the potential for harmonisation in areas like health and justice, and the need for public consultation to understand the use and trust in statistics.

The Board emphasised the need for consistent communication and branding of statistics to improve public trust and proposed a consultation to develop a structure for long-term comparability and enhanced stakeholder engagement.

Any other business

The Board agreed the next meeting will take place in Glasgow.

The Chief Statistician recommended that the next event should be set up to support remote attendance and Glasgow University was offered which could support this.

Actions

• Office of the Chief Statistician (OCS) to produce meeting minutes and survey the Board for possible dates for the next meeting which is likely to be the second half of September.
• OCS to cascade the recent Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) paper on Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base.
• Board members to sign and return Letters of Appointment to OCS.
• AW to produce equalities paper for the board.