Clause 10

Part of Statistics and Registration Service Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:45 pm on 18 January 2007.

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Photo of Theresa Villiers Theresa Villiers Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 3:45, 18 January 2007

I appreciate that clarification. As I said, I shall not press the amendment, but hope to return to it on Report.

The Financial Secretary is concerned about the problems that could arise from vesting the board with enforcement powers over Departments that breach the code and stated that some statistics are less significant than others and should not be subjected to the same degree of scrutiny. He might be concerned about the  burden that would be placed on statisticians, but surely we can trust the board to take a proportionate approach to the statistics and their significance. After all, under clause 26 it is obliged to minimise the burdens that it imposes on those affected by its activities. I feel that the Financial Secretary has not produced a reason why certain statistics should be subjected to a lesser regime, but as I said I welcome his acceptance of the code’s impact across Departments.