Ray,
There must be many of us ill-informed about the history of our life-times
with respect to GSS and ONS, and of course the Household Survey which was
ditched. Couldn't you do a short paper on that for the newsletter, perhaps
in partnership with others with similar experience? Of course we must get
the March deadline off first.
Janet Shapiro
-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Thomas <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2002 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: CoPG10 - CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>
>> PS many thanks to Ray for his detailed work on the CoP, and
>> for keeping the
>> list so well informed about the issues.
>
>Some people may be misled by this tribute. Julian Wells and I do share the
>same email address, but we don't share an office. He doesn't works for me,
>and I don't work for him. I think that he works in the Business School.
>But it is likely that we both fall under the generally benign influence of
>the system of educational values inculcated by the Open University. This
>value system does give a premium to open discussion (open as to people) and
>in ability to engage in information technology supported culture (open as
to
>methods).
>
>...
>
>Some people may wonder about my qualifications for pontificating about the
>Government Statistical Service. In response I can say that my knowledge
>goes back a bit longer - nearly half a century - than that of current
>members of the GSS. I have been a user of official statistics in research,
>in industry and in local goverment, and in producing a Open University
>course on official statistics in the 1970s. I also wrote a thesis on
>official statistics. The thesis is not out-of-date and anyone who wants a
>copy has only to ask. It was inspired in part by the sharp differences
>between the attitutes of members of the GSS in the 1980s and 1990s, after
>the Rayner Review, from those of the 1970s and earlier.
>
>For the last five years or so my knowledge of the GSS has been enriched by
>membership of the Official Statistics Committee of the Royal Statistical
>Society. It was evident sooon after joining the Committee that members of
>the Government Statistical Service expected the RSS to act as a kind of
>public relations organisation for the GSS. I had to take on the job of
>Secretary of the Committee in order to get a reasonable balance in our work
>......
>
>
>
>What are the really crucial points to be made about the Code of Practice?
>The core problem is that self-diagnosed by members of the GSS. For more
>than two decades members of the GSS have complained that the UK suffers
from
>a decentralised/departmental statistical system. I go along with that
>diagnosis.
>
>The solution usually advocated is that the system should be centralised.
>This kind of solution was expressed in the merger of the Central
Statistical
>Office and the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys to created the
>Office for National Statistics in 1996. the centralisation solution well
>expressed in the idea of creating the post of National Statistician that
>gives him responsibility for everything.
>
>I don't support tha centralisation solution that is parallel to the 'Great
>Man' theory of history, and the currently idea popular idea that you can
>turn an organisation round if you appoint a new Chief Executive at a
million
>a year. The National Statistician solution is doomed to failure. If
>nothing else is done Len Cook will trot back to NZ in two years time with
an
>honour hanging from his collar, but with his tail between his legs.
>
>The fact of the matter is that the system is departmental because the job
>descriptions of members of the GSS are specific to their departmental
>responsibilities. In behaving departmentally they are just doing what
they
>are paid to do.
>
>The main component of a solution is extraordinariy simple - to change the
>job descriptions of members of the GSS!! They should all be parallel to
>those of Len Cook's. Len Cook has been given a role that can be
summarised
>as being a public servant rather than a civil servant. All members of
the
>GSS should have such a role. It is actually closer to the role that was
>dominant in the 1970s and earlier than that which has dominated since.
>
>If all members of the GSS had more responsibilities to the public and less
>to their departments they would were more united and less fragmented.
>There would be no great departmental problem, and there would be little
>problem in achieving a statistical service that is seen as independent of
>government.
>
>Can I have a million pounds please??
>
>Ray Thomas
>
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