3. Public Use of Statistics

How we will champion public use of statistics

Although our core remit is official statistics, we recognise that official statistics are part of this much broader landscape of analytical evidence.

By analytical evidence we mean evidence that emerges from the work of analysts inside and outside government. This includes official statistics; research; evaluation; modelling and forecasting; and scientific outputs. We recognise that official statistics are part of this much broader landscape of analytical evidence.

It is clear that the environment in which analytical evidence is used in public life is strained. Citizens get their information from a wide range of sources; some may be moving away from traditional media, and there is a greater risk that algorithmically curated information reinforces misinformation. It is possible that AI-driven content might further increase this risk. So, it is important that key institutions responsible for data, analysis and scientific evidence continue to uphold the importance of sound, trustworthy information – in short, argue for the public good provided by appropriately used analytical evidence.

OSR cannot take responsibility for addressing the entire challenge, when others are both better resourced and more clearly empowered to act (for example, Ofcom taking on responsibility for online safety through the Online Safety Act) or experts in particular sectors (like the Committee on Research Integrity). These actors include groups within government, including the Analytical Function and the Government Communications Services.

On the other hand, we should recognise that we do play an important role when it comes to the use of analytical evidence in public life – that, though small, we are a crucial part of the information ecosystem.

The particular role we can play involves:

• Reinforcing norms of good information use rooted in our Code, which, while focused on official statistics, has much wider relevance. We are already doing this in a decisive way with the new Standards for the Public Use of Statistics, Data and Wider Analysis, based in our concept of intelligent transparency.
• Promoting voluntary application of the Code among organisations working with data outside of official statistics production. The Code can support any organisation and analyst working with data, statistics and analysis, whether inside government or beyond, to produce analytical outputs that are trustworthy, high-quality and useful for supporting decisions.
• Continuing to take on cases which members of the public, organisations, the media and political parties raise with us. These cases enable us to address specific issues; to further reinforce the principles of good practice around intelligent transparency and minimising misleadingness; and to show our own openness to a wide range of perspectives and voices.
• Being clear that we are not a fact-checker. Our unique contribution is to ensure that statistics are used in a way that does not undermine public confidence in them. In doing this, we follow our interventions policy, which sets out how we decide which cases to take on and how we should intervene.
• Conducting research from our unique perspective to improve understanding of how statistics serve the public good and use this understanding to shape improvements in statistical production and communication. We will also embed the findings of that research in our regulatory approach. As with casework, this research serves our goals in multiple ways: it enables us to identify specific insights (for example related to the use of statistics by decision makers); it establishes a norm of the importance of drawing on research into the public good; and it demonstrates our own openness and curiosity.
• Develop our partnerships with other actors who play key roles in supporting public confidence in analytical evidence. For instance, we have crucial partnerships with the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), BBC Verify, Sense about Science, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Committee on Research Integrity, and House of Commons Library.
• Exploring, with the National Statistician, how far OSR may have a role in supporting citizens and communities to feel more empowered to contribute to the development of statistics, in line with the Code’s Value principle.
• Developing a stronger voice in wider government communities, including the analytical function, the communication profession and the data/digital community, highlighting the positive role that TQV can play in supporting the appropriate use of analytical evidence within government, and continuing our advocacy of data linkage.

Securing change

We secure change by:

• promoting the Standards for the Public Use of Statistics, Data and Wider Analysis as the norm for communicating analytical evidence
• clearly intervening in cases of misleading or inappropriate use of statistics and always showing empathy to the people who raise concerns
• building strategic partnerships to amplify norms of transparency and integrity, both within government (including the Government Communications Service) and outside it
• conducting and publishing research to deepen understanding of how statistics can serve the public good
• advocating for intelligent transparency across government and public discourse
• supporting those who voluntarily adopt the Code of Practice

Commitments

We will:

• continue to deliver responsive and impactful casework
• keep our interventions policy under constant review
• embed findings from public good research into regulatory practice
• continue to develop partnerships with key actors (for example, RSS, BBC Verify, ASA, House of Commons Library)
• support and embed intelligent transparency, including exploring the use of report cards
• strengthen OSR’s voice in government analytical and communication communities
• continue to promote the Code and intelligent transparency