- This policy sets out the approach the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) takes to managing conflicts of interest for individual members of staff.
- Conflicts of interest arise when an individual or team has a personal interest in a topic or connection to an organisation that OSR is reviewing. Conflicts can arise from:
- Personal connections with other organisations, whether through family or friend connections, or through past employment, with the latter typically being time limited.
- Personal commitment to a topic, for example through membership of a campaigning organization which advocates on a topic.
- Future career moves, where an individual has accepted a new role in an organization that OSR currently regulates.
- Any other factors that may create a personal interest in the topic, which would lead the individual to feel uncomfortable working on the topic or may lead to the external perception that decisions have not been made objectively.
- We adopt a Recognise-Communicate-Mitigate model to address conflicts of interest. Members of staff are expected to recognise the potential for conflicts; communicate them to their line manager; and agree any mitigation, typically stepping aside from any work involving the interest which gives rise to the potential conflict.
- For members of the OSR senior leadership team, we disclose the mitigations put in place to manage any potential conflicts of interest. The current senior leadership team disclosures are as follows:
| Name | Role | Conflict | Mitigation | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Humpherson | Director General for Regulation | Disability statistics - current role as Governor of Motability | Excluded from regulatory decisions related to disabilities or social security payments to the disabled. | For duration of time as Governor of Motability. |
| Rob Kent-Smith | Deputy head of OSR | Advisor to the North Wales Transport Commission and formerly Deputy Director for Transport Strategy and Policy at Welsh Government until March 2023. | Excluded from regulatory decisions related to Transport Statistics, including proposed Welsh National Travel Survey and statistics associated with roads. | Indefinite for the Welsh National Travel Survey and statistics related to roads. For other mitigations: until two years after appointment with North Wales Transport Commission ends. |
| Rob Kent-Smith | Deputy head of OSR | Formerly Deputy Director for National Accounts Coordination at the Office for National Statistics until March 2021. | Excluded from any regulatory decisions related to Quarterly Country and Regional GDP estimates and the Supply and Use process and table publications. | Indefinite |