Clause 10
Statistics and Registration Service Bill
3:45 pm
John Healey (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
This is a useful and, I hope, probing amendment from the hon. Lady. We expect the board to draw on the relevant guidance and principles contained in various documents such as the code of practice for national statistics, the European statistics code of practice and the United Nations fundamental principles of official statistics. I do not want to get into another long list. However, we would also expect the board to consider the commendable work of the Statistics Commission, which recently published its own proposals on a revised code of practice. However, it is unnecessary and potentially unhelpful to place statutory obligations on the board to do so. I hope that my clarifications have convinced the hon. Lady not to press her amendment.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth tabled amendments Nos. 195 and 196. I fully expect the board to take account of the considerations that he sets out in amendment No. 195. I understand, as he does, the importance of good local-level data—for use locally, but also as a building block for understanding what may be going on at the regional and national levels.
As we discussed, specifying in the Bill particular statistical uses or considerations of which the board must take account in drawing up the code would be unnecessarily inflexible. I expect the board to consult those with the experience and user interest set out in amendment No. 196, but it is not necessary to stipulate that in the Bill. My right hon. Friend welcomed my earlier clarification that under clause 32, the board would have the power to establish advisory committees. Those would allow it to consult individuals with the expertise on which my right hon. Friend is concerned to see it draw.
Given my comments, I hope that the hon. Lady will see fit not to press the amendment to a Division.