Executive Summary

This report sets out the findings from our review of statistical leadership. It looks at how statistical leadership can be strengthened across government.

Strong statistical leadership is essential to ensuring statistics serve the public good. Many decisions draw on statistics published by governments across the UK. Successful implementation of government policies can be dependent on public confidence in the data and messages shared by government. Individuals need to be confident in the data and associated narratives in order to make decisions which impact on their lives, business, or charities.

Governments need to be role models for statistical leadership. They need statisticians who can show leadership within the profession and across their organisations, and officials who can champion the use of evidence and be confident in engaging with analytical experts. All those with public facing roles must be capable of communicating messages drawing on data to support public confidence in data and how they have been used.

The report is intended to act as a starting point for further engagement. We will be engaging widely across analytical and other professions and plan to provide a progress update to this report in 2022. If you have feedback or would like to discuss any aspects of this report please contact us.