The best you can expect are backhanded comments about a 'particularly effective campaign' viz the Unemployment Unit on unemployment statistics.
That required regular press releases every month for years.
ONS also seem to have the view that nothing not published in an accepted peer-reviewed journal exists (and maybe only a restricted selection of such), and therefore 'grey' literature cannot be cited. The only exceptions to this are publications by other national statistics offices.
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Direct Line: 020 7840 8335
Inclusion
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-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Thomas [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 04 March 2005 10:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN BRITISH OFFICIAL STATISTICS[Scanned]
Yes, lack of acknowledgment of the work of Radstats and other investigators seems to have become a well established pattern. Another example is the ignoring of the Sheffield Hallam work 'The Real Level of Unemployment' about the growth of sickness benefit that was published in 1999. The ONS/GSS strenuously attacked use of the term 'real unemployment' - without acknowledgment of the Sheffield Hallam group or the context in which they used the term. Today Blair is fighting the phenomenon that Sheffield Hallam uncovered six years ago. And according to the Hallam people reported in today's Guardian, Blair is not getting support from the ONS in this area.
The situation appears to be akin to the identification of 'The Establishment' many decades ago. The Establishment dealt with problems by denying them. The Statistical Establishment has long included the Royal Statistical Society whose primary function has become to defend the interests of professional statististicians - including those in the GSS. Now the Statistical Establishment seems to have reached out beyond the ONS and GSS to encompass the Statistics Commission.
Both the ONS and the SC claim independence from Government and from each other. They do not see any irony in collaborating on a report addressed to public confidence in statistics.
Their joint report promises further surveys of public confidence and development of a strategy aimed at building confidence in official statistics. See
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/public_confidence/downloads/BritishOfficialStat.pdf
There is no hint of a strategy to deal with specific concerns about official statistics. As the message from Richard Aldritt spells out, confidence in official statististics is seen as something belonging to 'influential people' not anything to do with statistics.
Ray Thomas
35 Passmore, Tinkers Bridge, Milton Keynes MK6 3DY
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel/Fax 01908 679081
----- Original Message -----
From: Macfarlane, Alison
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN BRITISH OFFICIAL STATISTICS
It may be, however, that people may be reluctant to acknowledge use of our work. The group at York Health Economics Consortium, which did the work on official health statistics for the Commission rang me up at an early stage when its staff without much previous experience in the field were having difficulty in locating official health statistics. I pointed out that Radstats had published an 'unofficial guide' on the subject and person told me that they already knew about it and were making heavy use of it. I was therefore disappointed that they did not feel it necessary to acknowledge or even reference it in their report for the Commission.
Alison
-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Thomas [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 03 March 2005 14:59
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fw: PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN BRITISH OFFICIAL STATISTICS
A REPLY FROM THE STATISTICS COMMISSION
It seems that having a website, an email discussion list, a journal,
organising an annual conference and producing several books is not enough
for Radstats to be considered 'influential' in matters related to public
confidence in statistics.
The Statistics Commission list of individuals who are considered influential
is given below.
**********************************
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Alldritt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Ray Thomas" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: "maryanne.kelly" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:40 PM
Subject: RE: PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN BRITISH OFFICIAL STATISTICS
Dear Ray - many thanks for your interest. Copies of the Commission's
report on the interviews with opinion-formers are available and we can
send hard copies if you wish. I wouldn't make any huge claims for our
part of this work. We wanted to know what influential people really
thought and we think we have obtained a good impression of that. But
the people interviewed by MORI on our behalf (list below) cannot be
seen as a representative sample, whether or not a Radstats member was
included. What did come through strongly though was that whilst many of
the interviewees were generally positive about UK official statistics,
they also wanted better arrangements to ensure independence and
responsiveness to public needs. So the research lent weight to the
assumptions the Commission was already making about the user perspective
and public trust.
As far as Radstats itself is concerned, the Commission regards it as a
welcome, active voice on the important issues surrounding official
statistics.
Best wishes
Richard
Richard Alldritt
Chief Executive
Statistics Commission
10 Great George Street
London SW1P 3AE
020 7273 8008
[log in to unmask]
www.statscom.org.uk
The Statistics Commission is independent of Ministers and of the
producers of official statistics. It operates openly and transparently.
Statistics Commission. . PERCEPTIONS REPORT INTERVIEWEES:. . Dr Bob
Barr, University of Manchester. Nigel Beard MP. Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart,
Local Government Association. Robert Chote, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Evan Davis, BBC. Professor Ian Diamond, Economic and Social Research
Council. Andrew Dilnot, St Hugh's College Oxford. Michael Fallon MP.
Professor Harvey Goldstein, Institute of Education. Sir Andrew Green,
Migrationwatch UK. Anne Harrop, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Professor Tim
Holt, University of Southampton. Jenny Hope, The Daily Mail. Baron Jenkin.
Alistair Johnston, KPMG. Professor Roger Jowell, City University. Trevor
Kavanagh, The Sun. Peter Kellner, YouGov. Ian McCafferty, CBI. Lord
McIntosh. Baroness Murphy, North East London Strategic Health Authority.
Mark Oaten MP. Sir Robert Phillis, Government Communications Review.
Howard Reed, Institute for Public Policy Research. David Smith, The Sunday
Times. Pam Smith, Commission for Racial Equality. James Strachan, Audit
Commission. Professor Colin Talbot, University of Nottingham. Richard
Thomas, UK Information Commissioner. Professor Tony Travers, London School
of Economics and Political Science. Adair Turner, Merrill Lynch. Paul
Wallace, The Economist. David Walker, The Guardian. James Westhead, BBC.
Karl Wilding, National Council for Voluntary Organisations. Stephen Yeo,
Watson & Wyatt.
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