In this blog, Elise Rohan, Head of Casework, shines a light on the often unseen but highly impactful work of OSR’s casework function. Casework is the part of OSR’s role that investigates concerns raised about statistics from members of the public, Parliamentarians, journalists, academics and others. As she prepares to step away from the role, Elise reflects on recent private interventions and the lessons they’ve taught her about the importance of collaborative relationships.
One of the things I’ve learned in this role is that the most meaningful casework impact rarely comes from headlines generated by public letters – it comes from the behind-the-scenes conversations with producers. Our impact is greatest when we work together proactively rather than reactively.
When people think of OSR, they often picture public letters. But the reality is that most of our interventions happen behind closed doors. We are proportionate in our interventions and recognise that public letters are not always the best route to change.
Take our recent work with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), where we were asked to look at its communications that compared the dangers of sunbeds with smoking. While smoking and sunbeds are both classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as Group 1 carcinogens, there isn’t evidence to suggest they pose equal levels of risk. Following our engagement, DHSC was quick to update its press release and social media posts to make this distinction clear and has committed to no longer using this comparison.
We also recently reviewed statements made by different ministers relating to the condition of flood defences. Verifying these claims requires data from several different sources across the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency, meaning the claims weren’t sufficiently transparent and accessible to the public. In response to our engagement, the Permanent Secretary for Defra wrote to OSR agreed to improve the accessibility of this information and committed to incorporate and consolidate asset condition statistics, as part of its work to improve the existing official statistics on flood defence expenditure.
Our hidden interventions also extend beyond government. Earlier this year, the Greater London Authority (GLA) published some analysis on recent trends in tourism data following our engagement with them concerning claims by the Mayor for London on American tourism in London where the basis for the claims was unclear.
In each case, whether we intervene publicly or privately, we stand up for statistics.
As I prepare to pass on the Head of Casework baton, I remain grateful for the open and constructive engagement I have received from producers and organisations I have worked with over the years. These individual cases and interactions have enabled us to bring transparency of statistics into focus and ensure statistics can play their role in democratic debate.
Casework will keep evolving, but I am confident that OSR will continue to work in partnership with others to ensure steps are taken to prevent the misuse of statistics and uphold the vision that statistics serve the public good.