Sir Robert Chote to leave UK Statistics Authority 

Tuesday 08 July 2025 6:13 pm
 |  Up to date: 

Tuesday 08 July 2025 6:14 pm

Sir Robert Chote has resigned as chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, which oversees official knowledge revealed by a variety of our bodies together with the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics. 

The UK Statistics Authority, an arms-length authorities physique, has been concerned in scrutinising the ONS’s troubles. 

Chote, who joined the UK Statistics Authority in 2022, will grow to be the president of Trinity Faculty, Oxford in September, 

His profession transfer is considerably just like that of Institute for Fiscal Research (IFS) director Paul Johnson, who will grow to be Provost at Queen’s Faculty, Oxford later this 12 months after stepping down from the economics suppose tank. 

In an obscure announcement which revealed Chote’s resignation and a separate acceptance of a suggestion to nominate a brand new head to guide the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics, Cupboard Workplace minister Pat McFadden mentioned: “New management is vital to delivering this consequence and I welcome the launch of that course of as we speak.”

The ONS has additionally employed Financial institution of England knowledge chief James Benford to guide its financial, social and environmental statistics group. 

A string of recent hires comply with the publication of a evaluate by former civil servant Sir Robert Devereux into failings on the official statistics physique. 

The report was scathing of the ONS and mentioned it had “deep seated” points that broken its popularity for offering sound knowledge. 

At a listening to in parliament on Monday, officers on the ONS revealed an inner report about tradition on the physique was not shared with leaders on the UK Statistics Authority over fears of their response. 

Chote, who used to guide the Workplace for Funds Accountability (OBR), instructed a gaggle of MPs that he had needed to see the report on the time it was revealed in early 2023. 

Statistics errors

The ONS has been mired in hassle for a number of months, with delays to a key reform of its flagship labour pressure survey and postponement of costs knowledge important for GDP figures. 

Statisticians additionally lately revealed that its revealed inflation knowledge for April was fallacious on account of errors in calculations of car excise duties. 

The Financial institution of England has mentioned it was trying extra intently at separate enterprise surveys earlier than making financial coverage choices. 

The Financial institution’s prime brass, together with governor Andrew Bailey and chief economist Huw Capsule, have criticised operations on the Wales-headquartered physique.