DWP corrects ‘entirely misleading’ Universal Credit claim
03 Apr Statistics

DWP corrects ‘entirely misleading’ Universal Credit claim

Office for Statistics Regulation urges department to include its statisticians in comms drafting process
by Tevye Markson
Sir Ian Diamond steps down as UK’s national statistician
09 May Statistics
Sir Ian Diamond steps down as UK’s national statistician
ONS told to take 'decisive action to restore confidence' in economic stats
09 Apr Statistics
ONS told to take 'decisive action to restore confidence' in economic stats
ONS staff vote to extend strike mandate in office-attendance dispute
03 Apr Statistics
ONS staff vote to extend strike mandate in office-attendance dispute
Political leaders warned about stats transparency in general election campaigning
05 Jun 2024 Statistics
Political leaders warned about stats transparency in general election campaigning
Watchdog will speak out if stats are used in a misleading way, political parties are told
Treasury perm sec warned ministers over Tory tax claim
05 Jun 2024 Statistics
Treasury perm sec warned ministers over Tory tax claim
James Bowler said ministers should not say a Conservative costing was produced by civil servants
MPs urge reform to boost cross-departmental data sharing
28 May 2024 Statistics
MPs urge reform to boost cross-departmental data sharing
Treasury urged to incentivise progress as current Cabinet Office initiatives are dubbed "self-evidently insufficient"
Public confidence in ONS remains high as trust in civil service dips
14 May 2024 Statistics
Public confidence in ONS remains high as trust in civil service dips
Survey shows robust faith in official statistics but trust in civil service has fallen to 75%
MPs accuse DWP of 'cherry-picking' evidence on Universal Credit impact
29 Apr 2024 Statistics
MPs accuse DWP of 'cherry-picking' evidence on Universal Credit impact
Report says department has based its assessment of the impact UC to the labour market on "the most positive scenario"
ONS staff 'to defy back-to-office drive' with industrial action
26 Apr 2024 Statistics
ONS staff 'to defy back-to-office drive' with industrial action
Members of the PCS union encouraged to revert to their previous hybrid working schedule from 8 May
ONS officials vote to strike over in-office rule
05 Apr 2024 Statistics
ONS officials vote to strike over in-office rule
Staff threaten walkout over being asked to spend two days a week in the office
'We need to bang the drum for sufficient investment': The 'radical and ambitious principles' behind the ONS's Data Strategy
03 Apr 2024 Statistics
'We need to bang the drum for sufficient investment': The 'radical and ambitious principles' behind the ONS's Data Strategy
Following the release of a major new data strategy, Office for National Statistics chief data officer Fiona James talks about the power of linking information, and why departments must build data into spending review plans
Perm sec apologises after MoD overstates its inventory by more than 250 million items
02 Apr 2024 Statistics
Perm sec apologises after MoD overstates its inventory by more than 250 million items
Perm sec says reporting error backs up concerns raised by PAC and NAO about the department's management of its inventory
Cabinet Office awarded £200k to evaluate Civil Service Fast Stream
26 Mar 2024 Statistics
Cabinet Office awarded £200k to evaluate Civil Service Fast Stream
Project will assess the graduate scheme's impact on recruitment
ONS officials balloted for strike action over 40% in-office mandate
15 Mar 2024 Statistics
ONS officials balloted for strike action over 40% in-office mandate
PCS says the hybrid working directive has caused anger among staff
UKSA review warns of 'systemic, often cultural barriers' to departments sharing data
14 Mar 2024 Statistics
UKSA review warns of 'systemic, often cultural barriers' to departments sharing data
Report urges Cabinet Office and Treasury to tackle the issue
Civil service headcount reaches 500,000 mark
13 Mar 2024 Statistics
Civil service headcount reaches 500,000 mark
Civil service hits highest headcount since 2007 despite Hunt's plans to introduce a cap and cut 66,000 jobs
Stats watchdog rebukes Treasury minister over ‘misleading’ tax-cut claim
20 Feb 2024 Statistics
Stats watchdog rebukes Treasury minister over ‘misleading’ tax-cut claim
UKSA chair says comments claiming taxes for average earner have fallen by £1,000 could have misled the public
Entries open for award celebrating statistical excellence in the civil service
15 Feb 2024 Statistics
Entries open for award celebrating statistical excellence in the civil service
Royal Statistical Society calls for nominations for projects that balance value for money with meeting the needs of users
Departments’ data-transparency fails to match perm secs’ pledges, watchdog says
09 Feb 2024 Statistics
Departments’ data-transparency fails to match perm secs’ pledges, watchdog says
OSR chief Ed Humpherson dubs Cabinet Office’s failure to evidence Places for Growth benefits “disappointing”
Award nominations sought for ‘robust’ stats projects that provide ‘public value’
02 Feb 2024 Statistics
Award nominations sought for ‘robust’ stats projects that provide ‘public value’
RSS prize recognises work that embodies trustworthiness, quality and value – as outlined in OSR’s code of practice
Cabinet Office rapped for 'unreasonable' delays to stats authority review
31 Jan 2024 Statistics
Cabinet Office rapped for 'unreasonable' delays to stats authority review
PACAC "deeply concerned" by slow progress on UKSA review that was due to begin in 2022
Read the winter 2024 issue of Civil Service World
22 Jan 2024 Statistics
Read the winter 2024 issue of Civil Service World
Exclusive interviews with DWP perm sec Peter Schofield and CSPL chair Lord Evans, plus how to help neurodivergent staff thrive
Ministers reject call to make Civil Service People Survey results an official statistic
18 Jan 2024 Statistics
Ministers reject call to make Civil Service People Survey results an official statistic
But Cabinet Office pledges to speed up publication of annual results and to review the “usefulness” of the benchmark Employee Engagement Index
Departments’ funding woes could hamper £229m data-sharing platform
16 Jan 2024 Statistics
Departments’ funding woes could hamper £229m data-sharing platform
National statistician Ian Diamond updates MPs as Integrated Data Service moves towards full rollout
Stats regulator investigating Sunak's asylum backlog claims
04 Jan 2024 Statistics
Stats regulator investigating Sunak's asylum backlog claims
Thousands of asylum cases remain undecided despite ministers' claims that the backlog has been cleared
Loss of government statisticians ‘is a worry’, MPs told
10 Nov 2023 Statistics
Loss of government statisticians ‘is a worry’, MPs told
Departments may struggle to retain key officials amid demand for skills, experts warn
ONS statistician honoured for lifesaving pandemic work  
25 Oct 2023 Statistics
ONS statistician honoured for lifesaving pandemic work  
Vahé Nafilyan "wasn’t afraid to put novel ideas forward" when Covid hit, national statistician says