Several Radstats activists contributed to the discussion at the RSS meeting
on the Code held last Monday. These included Alison Macfarlane, Janet
Schapiro, and Ludi Simpson.
One of the most powerful points made by Alison is very relevant to the
Private Finance Inititiative being debated by the Labour Party in Cardiff
this weekend. A major part of the argument is that privatisation will raise
the standards of public service delivery. Alison's response to this
argument is to ask 'How might we know?'.
The point of the question is that when a service is privatised we usually
lose the statistics that might support comparisons. Private organisations
are not obliged to produce statistics on their activities and can refuse to
give information on the ground of commercial confidentiality.
It seems likely therefore that it will become increasingly difficult to make
comparisons between the private and public sectors on the provision of
services. The Draft Code does not include any clear statement of the
coverage of National Statistics or that of official statistics in general.
Might Radstats members work together to produce a submission on the Code of
Practice on this point? Should not the Code require that National
Statistics should aim to make it possible to compare performance in the
private and public sectors in the provision of publicly accessible services.
Ray Thomas, Social Sciences, Open University
Tel: 01908 679081 Fax 01908 550401
Email: [log in to unmask]
35 Passmore, Milton Keynes MK6 3DY
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