Introduction
Director General for Regulation’s Report
I look at our 2022/23 report in two quite different ways. Firstly, I see it as a demonstration of the progress we have made in ensuring that statistics serve the public good in the UK. The report shows lots of deliveries – 9 assessments reports, for example; 8 systemic reviews; 372 cases investigated; and many other deliveries. It outlines an impressive range of outcomes. As you read it, it is worth bearing in mind that this range of deliveries is achieved by a small team of around 40 people. They are a wonderful team and I hope you are as impressed by what they do as I am.
Secondly, and as the flip side of the coin, we are ambitious: there is more we can do to support the public good of statistics. We are not operating at the top end of our maturity model: we could be even more systemic and public-focused, and can secure more impact. And though the team here is brilliant, we can do more to provide opportunities for staff development and to make our our work easier to access.
So as I look back on 2022/23, I am very proud of what we’ve done; and ambitious to do more, and do better, in 2023/24.
Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation
Our purpose and vision
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is the Authority’s independent regulatory function, established by the Statistics and Registration Service Act (2007).
With offices in England, Scotland and Wales, we provide independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK, and aim to enhance public confidence in the trustworthiness, quality and value of statistics produced by government.
We do this by setting the standards official statistics must meet in the Code of Practice for Statistics. We ensure that producers of official statistics uphold these standards by conducting assessments against the Code. Where our assessments conclude that the statistics comply in full with the Code of Practice, we accredit them as National Statistics. We also report publicly on system wide issues and on the way that statistics are being used, celebrating when the standards are upheld and challenging publicly when they are not.
Back to topOur vision is simple. Statistics should serve the public good.