Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007

Organisation and administration

30 National Statistician: advisory functions

(1) The National Statistician is to be the Board’s principal adviser on—

(a) the quality of official statistics,

(b) good practice in relation to official statistics, and

(c) the comprehensiveness of official statistics.

(2) The Board must have regard to the advice of the National Statistician on those matters.

(3) If the Board rejects the advice of the National Statistician—

(a) in relation to the development and maintenance of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards for official statistics, or

(b) as to the application to any statistics produced by the Board of any definition, methodology, classification or standard promoted by the Board under section 9,

the Board must publish a statement of its reasons for doing so.

(4) Where the Board publishes a statement under subsection (3), it must as soon as possible thereafter lay a copy before Parliament.

31 National Statistician: executive functions

(1) The National Statistician is also to be the chief executive of the Board.

(2) The National Statistician may, subject as follows, exercise any of the functions of the Board (including functions of establishing committees under section 35 and delegating functions to such committees).

(3) The National Statistician may not exercise the functions of—

(a) determining under section 10 whether to adopt a code as the Code of Practice for Statistics or to revise the Code, or

(b) determining under section 12(1) or 14(1) whether any official statistics comply with the Code.

(4) The Board may direct the National Statistician—

(a) not to exercise a particular function, or

(b) as to how he should exercise a particular function.

(5) In the event of a vacancy in the office of National Statistician, his functions under this section and section 32 may be exercised by such one of the other executive members of the Board as the Board may direct.

32 Executive office

(1) The National Statistician must establish an executive office of the Board to assist him in his exercise of—

(a) the function of the Board under section 9(1)(a) (development and maintenance of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards for official statistics),

(b) the function of the Board under section 20 (production of statistics),

(c) the function of the Board under section 21 (retail prices index),

(d) the function of the Board under section 22 (statistical services), and

(e) any other function of the Board which he may exercise under section 31(2).

(2) The executive office is, subject to this Act, to consist of—

(a) the National Statistician (who is to be its head),

(b) the other executive members of the Board, and

(c) such other employees of the Board as the National Statistician may assign to it.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) the National Statistician may delegate any function of the Board referred to in that subsection to any other member of the executive office.

(4) The delegation of a function by the National Statistician under subsection (3) does not prevent him from exercising the function himself.

33 Head of Assessment

(1) The Head of Assessment is to be the Board’s principal adviser on the exercise of its functions under sections 12(1) and 14(1).

(2) The Board must have regard to the advice of the Head of Assessment in the exercise of those functions.

(3) The Head of Assessment—

(a) if an executive member of the Board, may not exercise functions of the National Statistician under section 31(5),

(b) may not be a member of the executive office of the Board under section 32(2)(b) or (c), and

(c) may not in any other way take part in the production of statistics by the Board.

34 Separation of functions

(1) The National Statistician may not take part in any assessment or determination of the Board under section 12(1) or 14(1) in relation to statistics produced by the Board.

(2) The following may not take part in any assessment or determination of the Board under section 12(1) or 14(1)—

(a) an executive member of the Board, not being the National Statistician or Head of Assessment;

(b) a person assigned to the executive office of the Board under section 32(2)(c).

(3) The Board must seek to secure that, so far as practicable, employees who take part in the production of statistics should not be engaged in advising the Board on the exercise of its functions under sections 12(1) and 14(1) in relation to those statistics.

35 Committees

(1) The Board may establish committees for the purpose of—

(a) exercising functions of the Board, or

(b) giving advice to the Board.

(2) A committee of the Board established under subsection (1)(b) may include persons who are neither members nor employees of the Board.

(3) A committee established under this section may establish one or more sub-committees.

36 Delegation

(1) Subject as follows, the Board may delegate any of its functions (generally or specifically) to—

(a) a member of the Board,

(b) an employee of the Board not assigned to the executive office of the Board, or

(c) a committee established under section 35(1)(a).

(2) The Board may not under this section delegate the functions of—

(a) determining under section 10 whether to adopt or revise the Code of Practice for Statistics, or

(b) determining under section 12(1) or 14(1) whether any official statistics comply with the Code.

(3) Any committee of the Board established under section 35(1)(a) may delegate any function exercisable by it to any of its sub-committees.

(4) The delegation of a function by the Board or a committee of the Board under this section does not prevent the Board or committee from exercising the function.

37 Proceedings: supplementary

(1) Subject to this Part, the Board may regulate—

(a) its own proceedings (including quorum);

(b) the proceedings (including quorum) of any of its committees.

(2) A committee of the Board may regulate the proceedings (including quorum) of any of its sub-committees.

(3) The validity of any proceedings of the Board, or of any of its committees or sub-committees, is not affected by—

(a) a vacancy, or

(b) a defective appointment.