Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 [Draft]
Item 2 is to take evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth on the Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012. The draft order is subject to affirmative procedure. That means that Parliament must approve the order before it can be made and come into force. A motion in the name of the cabinet secretary invites the committee to recommend to Parliament that the draft instrument be approved.
Before the debate on the motion under agenda item 3, we will hear evidence to clarify technical matters and to explain detail. The cabinet secretary is accompanied by Scottish Government officials Julie Watson and Janette Purbrick. I invite the cabinet secretary to make an opening statement.
I clarify that it is Julie Wilson, not Julie Watson.
So it is. It would have helped to have had my glasses on. Thank you, cabinet secretary.
I did not like to point that out, convener, but it might help.
The purpose of the Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 is to extend the definition of official statistics in the United Kingdom Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 to include statistics that are produced by five non-Crown bodies. The statistics will be from NHS 24, the Scottish Ambulance Service board, the Scottish Social Services Council, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland—the care inspectorate—and a proportion of the data from Sustrans Ltd.
The order will ensure that the statistics that are produced by the five listed bodies are designated as official statistics which means that they should be produced and published to the professional standard that is set out in the United Kingdom Statistics Authority code of practice for official statistics. The UK Statistics Authority is the non-ministerial department that was created by the 2007 Act. It has a statutory objective to safeguard and promote the quality of official statistics. It has welcomed the addition of those five bodies in Scotland.
The five non-Crown bodies were consulted and they agreed that their statistics should be included in the definition of official data. We do not envisage significant costs or burdens to the bodies involved and they agree with that assessment. The statistics involved justify the steps that we are taking. The order will not place any burden on front-line services.
The amendment order will build on the three non-Crown bodies that are already named in the Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008. They are the Common Services Agency for the Scottish health service, the Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Student Loans Company Ltd. It will also build on the five non-Crown bodies that are named in the Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2010, which are the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. Each of those bodies has published at least one set of official statistics, with some bodies actively seeking national statistics designation. That is proof of our commitment to drive up standards in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has engaged with a number of additional public sector bodies that produce statistics on Scotland to discuss whether bringing their statistics into the definition of official data would help to improve standards, but it has concluded that those additional bodies are not yet in a position to be able to meet the requirements for official statistics. We will continue to review their progress and declare any official candidates. Hence, further amendments to the Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008 will follow in due course.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. There are no questions from committee members, so we move to the debate on the motion. I invite the cabinet secretary formally to move motion S4M-02867.
Motion moved,
That the Finance Committee recommends that the Official Statistics (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 [draft] be approved.—[John Swinney.]
Motion agreed to.
The committee will formally communicate its decision to Parliament by way of a short report that provides a link to the Official Report of this debate. Are members content with that approach?
Members indicated agreement.
Thank you very much, cabinet secretary.
10:05 Meeting suspended.Next
Employability