Dear Ed, I am writing to inform you of a risk of potential disruption to a small number of Scottish Government statistical publications during the first quarter of 2027, the factors contributing to this risk, and the action we are taking to minimise any impact. When I took up the role of Chief Statistician, I […]
Dear Alastair, Thank you for your letter of 22 April requesting an assessment of the new fraud and computer misuse estimates from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), produced by Scottish Government. Given the public value of information on fraud and computer misuse victimisation, I welcome your aspiration to publicly demonstrate compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. I am pleased to confirm that our teams have agreed the […]
Dear Ed, I am writing as the Chief Statistician for the Scottish Government. For the first time in 2023/24, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) was expanded to collect new information on adult experiences of fraud and computer misuse. This was developed following interest from users, to keep the SCJS in line with the changing […]
Dear Alastair, Thank you for your letter of 10th March outlining the context around the methodological developments to the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and their implications for your forthcoming report on Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland. Given the scale and phased nature of the transformation programme, and the sensitivities you highlight for the Scottish […]
Dear Ed I am writing to request that the designation of the Poverty and income inequality in Scotland publication, due for release 26 March 2026, be changed from accredited official statistics to official statistics in development. As you will be aware, this output uses data from the Family Resources Survey, which is carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions with a funding contribution from Scottish Government. […]
Dear Alastair Thank you for your letter requesting an alternative release time for the publication of non-domestic rates revaluation statistics in Scotland. As detailed in our Alternative Release Times policy, you have explained the rationale for wishing to publish the official statistics on the same day as the Scottish Government Budget (13th January) but soon after it has taken place, to avoid pre-empting any budget announcements that Ministers may be making. We are supportive of this decision based on your reasons set out. It also aligns with our Standards […]
Dear Ed, RE: Alternative Release Time for non-domestic rates revaluation statistics I am writing to request that you agree an alternative release time for the publication of non-domestic rates revaluation statistics, as required under standard 3.6 of the Code of Practice for Statistics. We plan to publish these statistics in the afternoon of 13th January […]
Dear Alastair, Reclassification of school meal uptake statistics Thank you for your letter requesting the removal of the accredited official statistics status of the Scottish Government’s statistics on school meal uptake in Scotland based on the School Health Living Survey. Your letter also outlined changes to the methodology used to produce the school meal uptake […]
Reclassification of school meal uptake statistics Dear Ed, I am writing to inform you of a significant change to the methodology used to produce school meal uptake statistics in Scotland, and to seek agreement on the reclassification of these statistics. Up to last year, these statistics were based on data collected through the School Healthy […]
Dear Ed, Developing a modern statistical system – A review of Scotland’s Census 2022 – second progress update I last wrote to you at the end of May to update on progress made in implementing the recommendations from our internal review of the Census. At that point, I indicated that I would provide further details […]