Section 11 Pre-release access

60.     This section provides for the Minister for the Cabinet Office and (in the case of official devolved statistics) the Devolved Administrations to determine, by order, the principles and rules for access to official statistics in their final form prior to publication (so called 'pre-release access'). Under section 11(7), the Minister for the Cabinet Office must consult the Board, among others, before making the order. Under section 65, such orders will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. Once approved, these rules and principles will be regarded as being included in, and are to be assessed as part of, the Code of Practice for Statistics.

61.     Subsections (1) and (2) provide that the Code under section 10 may not deal with pre-release access to official statistics, but that rules and principles relating to pre-release access are to be determined by order.

62.     Subsection (3) provides that once the order has been passed, the Board shall consider the content of that order part of the Code of Practice established under section 10.

63.     Subsection (4) sets out examples of the types of situation to which the rules and principles referred to in subsection (2) may apply. These could include: the circumstances in which, or descriptions of statistics in relation to which, pre-release access may or may not be granted; the type of person or persons to whom such access might be granted; the period within which such access may be granted; and the conditions under which any such access may be available.

64.     Subsection (5) provides that the principles and rules referred to in subsection (2) may vary between different types of statistics or statistical releases. They might, for example, set out different rules for market-sensitive and non-market sensitive statistics. Subsection (5) also provides that the order may grant discretion to the person responsible for producing official statistics. This could include, for example, provision to allow longer pre-release access in exceptional circumstances, such as for those preparing economic forecasts for a Budget or Pre-Budget Report.

65.     Subsection (6) establishes that the appropriate authority for making out an order under subsection (2) is the Minister for the Cabinet Office; or in the case of wholly devolved statistics, the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland, Scottish Ministers, or Welsh Ministers as appropriate.

66.     Subsection (7) establishes that an appropriate authority making the order under subsection (2) must consult the Board and the other authorities listed in subsection (6) before making an order.

Section 12 Assessment

67.     This section provides a mechanism for the independent assessment by the Board of official statistics, where the Board is asked to do so by the relevant Minister or other appropriate authority, against the published set of standards set out in the Code of Practice. The results of the assessment will be made public.

68.     Under subsection (2) if the Board judges that the statistics meet the standards in the Code, then the Board must designate them as 'National Statistics'. If they do not, then they will not be so designated.

69.     Subsection (3) requires that once the appropriate authority has requested an assessment of an official statistic under subsection (1), they may not withdraw that request, and the Board must undertake an assessment of the statistics in question.

70.     Subsection (4) requires the person responsible for the statistics being assessed to provide the Board with any information it might reasonably require. Subsection (6) allows the Board, when carrying out assessments, to take into account information or advice from any source.

71.     Under subsection (5) the Board must publish the results of any assessment.

72.     Subsection (8) allows for the fact that, at the point of commencement, there will already be a set of National Statistics. These statistics will be designated as National Statistics, under the terms of this section and subject to the re-assessment outlined in section 14.

Section 13 Duty to continue to comply with the Code

73.     This section requires that persons responsible for producing statistics designated as National Statistics under section 12 must ensure that the Code continues to be complied with. The only sanction for non-compliance will be removal of 'National Statistic' status, no other sanction will result from a failure to comply with the Code.

Section 14 Re-assessment

74.     This section provides for the re-assessment of statistics already designated as National Statistics under section 12. This includes assessment of those statistics which are already designated as National Statistics at the point of commencement (under section 12(8)), as well as those statistics which are assessed by the Board as compliant with the Code of Practice for Statistics (under section 12(2)).

75.     Subsection (1) requires the Board to assess statistics designated as National Statistics under section 12 to determine whether they continue to comply with the Code and if, under subsection (2), the Board determines that they continue to comply with the Code, confirm their designation. If they do not continue to comply, then their designation as National Statistics must be cancelled.

76.     Subsection (3) requires the person responsible for the statistics being assessed to provide the Board with any information it might reasonably require. Subsection (4) permits the Board, in carrying out its re-assessments, to take into account information or advice received from any source.

77.     Under subsection (6) cancellation of National Statistics designation can only occur if the Board has assessed the statistics and determined that they do not comply with the Code.

Section 15 Programme of assessment

78.     This section requires the Board to prepare and publish a programme for both the assessment (under section 12) of statistics proposed by the appropriate authority, and the re-assessment (under section 14) of statistics already designated as National Statistics.

79.     Subsection (2) allows the Board to revise the programme and if it does, it must republish it.

Section 16 Requests for assessment: supplementary

80.     This section requires the Board to notify the appropriate authority (as defined in section 12) if it considers that a statistic which has not already been assessed against the Code under section 12 should undergo such an assessment.

81.     Under subsection (2), where the appropriate authority is a Minister of the Crown, the Board is required to lay a copy of the notification before Parliament. Under subsection (3), where a Minister of the Crown receives such a request, he is required to lay before Parliament a statement as to whether (and, under subsection (4), when) he will comply with the Board's request.

82.     Subsection (5) provides that, where the Minister of the Crown decides not to comply with the Board's request, his statement must include reasons for the decision.

83.     Subsection (6) provides that where the National Statistician decides not to request that an official statistic produced under the authority of the Board be assessed for compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, he must make a statement to that effect, lay a copy of the statement before Parliament, and give reasons for his decision.

Section 17 Principles and procedures

84.     This section requires the Board to prepare and publish a statement of the principles and procedures it will adopt to carry out its assessments and re-assessments of National Statistics. It allows the Board to revise this statement at any time, and requires the Board to consult the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland, and other such persons as it sees fit. These principles will be for the Board to determine, but it is expected that they might indicate the way that risk-based approaches and transparency might underpin the assessment of National Statistics, including:

• the criteria that might be applied in drawing up and amending the work programme;

• the way that assessments themselves will be conducted;

• the way recommendations will be formulated;

• the timing and manner of publication of recommendations; and

• the professional standards expected of those conducting the assessment.

Section 18 List of National Statistics

85.     This section requires the Board to publish annually a list of statistics that are designated as National Statistics under sections 12 and 14.

Section 19 Code: transitional

86.     This section provides for the transitional arrangements from the point the Board is established, and before it has prepared and published a new Code, as required by section 10.

87.     The section further provides that, until a new Code is adopted by the Board, the Board will maintain the current Code of Practice for National Statistics (subsection (2)).

88.     Subsection (3) permits the Board to revise the existing Code before it publishes a new Code; and stipulates that if it does so, it must publish the Code as revised.

89.     Subsection (4) provides that, in making revisions to the existing Code, the Board may not make any changes relating to pre-release access as defined in section 11.

90.     Subsection (5) establishes that during the interim period, the Board can use the existing Code to assess statistics proposed by the appropriate authority for assessment under section 13, as well as to re-assess statistics already designated as National Statistics under section 14.

Section 20 Production of statistics

91.     This section provides the Board with the power to produce and publish statistics. Under this power, the Board will take on one of the main roles of the ONS, in conducting surveys, and collecting information from other sources, to produce a wide range of data on the economy and society. This includes, for example, production of the National Accounts, labour market data and information on population sizes.

92.     Subsection (1) allows for the Board to prepare and publish statistical outputs, while subsection (2) provides for the Board to make available information or advice in relation to those outputs. For example, when publishing statistics on a particular topic, the Board may need to provide other contextual information for users about the appropriate use of those data, background information on the methodology, and terminology (for example, explaining the concept of seasonal adjustment) or advice on other relevant points.

93.     Subsections (3) to (5) provide that the Board must seek the consent of the relevant Devolved Administration before producing or publishing devolved statistics.

Section 21 Retail Prices Index

94.     This section sets out the governance arrangements for the Retail Prices Index (RPI). The RPI is an average measure of change in the price of goods and services, which is compiled and published monthly.

95.     Subsection (1) provides that the Board must compile and maintain the RPI, and that it must be published every month.

96.     Subsection (2) requires that the Board, before making any changes to the coverage or basic calculation of the RPI, must consult the Bank of England on whether the proposed change constitutes a fundamental change in the index that would be materially detrimental to the interests of the holders of relevant index-linked gilt-edged securities (ILGs).

97.     This is because, among other things, the RPI is used to calculate returns on ILGs, which are government securities issued by HM Treasury under its borrowing powers in section 12 of the National Loans Act 1968. The prospectuses of ILGs first issued before July 2002 provided as follows:

'If any change should be made to the coverage or the basic calculation of the [Retail Prices] Index which, in the opinion of the Bank of England, constitutes a fundamental change in the Index which would be materially detrimental to the interests of the stock-holders, Her Majesty's Treasury will publish a notice in the London Gazette immediately following the announcement to the relevant Government Department of the change, informing stockholders and offering them the right to require Her Majesty's Treasury to redeem their Stock in advance of the revised index becoming effective ..'.

98.     The prospectuses of eight gilts with maturities ranging from 2009 to 2030 currently contain this redemption clause and the aggregate outstanding amount of these gilts is substantial. The rationale of the redemption clause was to protect holders against arbitrary changes in the nature of the RPI. However, depending on the nature of the change to the RPI and on market circumstances at the time, the triggering of the section could have a significant impact on financial markets and potentially on the public finances.

99.     Subsection (3) provides that if, under subsection (2) the Bank of England considers the proposed change to constitute a fundamental change that would be materially detrimental to holders of ILGs, then the Board may not make the change without the consent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

100.     Subsection (4) defines the various terms used in the section.

Section 22 Statistical services

101.     This section allows the Board to supply statistical services to any person and details the kind of services that may be provided. This power is intended to allow the Board to provide the range of services that the ONS previously provided. For example, the Board will be able to provide information, advice and technical assistance to outside bodies, as ONS has done, including to statistical agencies in other countries.

102.     The Board may also undertake quality assessment of statistics produced by organisations outside the scope of the Act, in a manner akin to those it carries out in relation to National Statistics. Those bodies' statistics could not be designated as National Statistics, but the Board could if it wished make public its views on the quality of those statistics. The Board may also undertake statistical surveys and analyses on behalf of others, as ONS did with its 'Omnibus' Survey.

Section 23 Statistical research

103.     This section allows the Board to promote statistical research, including facilitating research through making available to researchers data held by it, as ONS did. For example, ONS provided anonymised data under licence through the UK Data Archive at Essex University. It also provided access to certain data to researchers and academics in a secure environment, and it is intended that this will continue as described in relation to section 39.

Section 24 Delegated functions

104.     This section allows a Minister of the Crown, a Welsh ministerial authority or a Northern Ireland department, by order, to delegate to the Board any of their functions relating to the production of statistics. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has previously delegated Ministerial functions under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 - to the Director of the ONS - this provision allows the possibility of such delegation in the system established by this Act.

Section 25 Census etc and Schedule 1

105.     This section transfers the statistical functions of the Registrar General for England and Wales to the Board. These functions include responsibility for conducting the census and the production of an annual volume which, among other things, contains figures on the number of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships that have taken place in England and Wales during the previous year. The functions also include the role of assessor to the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England and for Wales. This involves giving advice to the Commissions on issues such as population estimates.

106.     The Schedule contains the amendments consequential on, and supplementary to, section 25.

The Census Act 1920

107.     The amendments to the Census Act 1920 give the Board the same responsibilities that applied to the Registrar General, apart from the following two specific provisions. Paragraph 3 amends section 3 of the Census Act to require the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Welsh Ministers to consult the Board prior to making any regulations under this provision. The references to the Welsh Ministers in the amended section 3 reflect the transfer of the regulation-making power in section 3 to Welsh Ministers under the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions)(No. 2) Order 2006 which came into force on 15 December 2006.

108.     Paragraph 5 amends section 3 of the Census Act so as to enable the Board to acquire information from any government department or local authority, having first consulted with the Registrar General, in relation to registration information. Paragraph 6 amends section 6 of the Census Act 1920 to clarify to whom a local authority should submit an application for a local census in England and Wales or in Scotland respectively.

The Population (Statistics) Act 1938

109.     Paragraph 8 amends section 4 of the Population (Statistics) Act 1938 to permit the Board to disclose information collected under this Act, providing it is necessary in connection with the performance of its functions under section 5 of the Census Act 1920.

The Registration Service Act 1953

110.     Paragraph 9 amends section 19 of the Registration Service Act 1953 to place on the Board the responsibility for sending an annual abstract to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986

111.     Paragraph 10 amends paragraph 5(a) and (c) of Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to place the role of assessor to the Boundary Commissions for England and for Wales on the Board.

The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

112.     Paragraph 11 amends section 14(6)(a) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to place the role of assessor to the Boundary Committees for England and for Wales on the Board.

Section 26 Ancillary powers

113.     This section enables the Board to do anything necessary in connection with the exercise of its functions or incidental business. The purpose of a section of this nature is to give the Board the powers it needs to carry out its day-to-day business. It does not widen the scope of the Board's activities, nor provide any powers of compulsion.

114.     Examples of the use of the powers are:

• the gathering of information in relation to the exercise of its functions;

• the establishment of advisory bodies;

• the entering into of agreements; the acquiring and disposing of property; and

• promoting, or assisting in the promotion of, publicity about the work of the Board.

115.     These powers will also entitle the Board to charge for certain services on a discretionary basis, as ONS did, for example for paper copies of its publications, for any statistical services it provides, and for services promoting statistical research. Any charges will be made in line with Government charging policies, which apply to all public bodies.

Section 27 Reports

116.     This section requires certain reports to be laid before Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, or the Northern Ireland Assembly, and it also allows the Board to lay further reports as necessary.

117.     This section would enable the Board, if it thought it appropriate, to lay reports which are wholly on devolved matters only before the relevant devolved legislature.

118.     Subsection (1) imposes a duty on the Board to produce a report after the end of each financial year. This will include details of what it has done during the year and what it has found as a result of those activities. The Board must also provide information about what it intends to do during the following financial year.

119.     Subsection (2) states that a report under subsection (1) must be laid before Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

120.     Subsection (3) allows the Board at any time to produce a report about any other matter relating to the exercise of its functions. Subsection (4) notes that any report produced under subsection (3) must be laid before at least one or more of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

121.     Under subsection (5), the Board must publish any report that it makes under this section.

Section 28 Efficiency etc

122.     Subsection (1) obliges the Board to have regard to efficiency and cost-effectiveness when making decisions relating to the exercise of its functions.

123.     Subsection (2) requires that the Board seek to limit the costs that individuals, businesses and other organisations bear as a result of its activities (for example, when requiring them to fill in a survey, or when their statistics are being assessed). As a result, the Board must consider the burdens it places on others as a part of decisions such as, whether to acquire data from existing administrative sources or whether to commission new data instead.

Section 29 Directions

124.     This section allows the Minister for the Cabinet Office to give the Board such directions as he considers appropriate in the event of a serious failure by the Board to perform any of its functions, or to comply with EU obligations. Given that the new Board will be established as a NMD, the power in subsection (1) is intended as a power of last resort. The Minister for the Cabinet Office will have no role in the day-to-day decision-making of the Board.

125.     In a similar manner, subsections (2), (3) and (4) permit the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers or the Department for Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland, with the consent of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to give the Board such directions as they consider appropriate to remedy a serious failure by the Board to comply with its objective, or to perform any of its functions in relation to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland respectively.

126.     Subsection (8) provides that where the Minister for the Cabinet Office gives directions to the Statistics Board under this section, a copy of the directions must be laid before Parliament, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office must notify the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Department for Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland. A copy of the directions must also be laid before each of the devolved legislatures. Under subsections (9) to (11), where any of the Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers or the Department for Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland gives directions to the Statistics Board under this section, a copy of those directions must be laid before the relevant devolved legislature and before Parliament.

127.     Under subsection (12), if the Board fails to act on a direction, the authority that gave the direction may carry out that direction itself, and in so doing, may exercise the Board's powers. Where the authority is not the Minister for the Cabinet Office, this power is exercised subject to the consent of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Section 30 National Statistician: advisory functions

128.     This section establishes the National Statistician as the Board's chief professional adviser on the quality and comprehensiveness of, and good practice in relation to, official statistics. Subsection (2) requires that the Board take account of the National Statistician's advice in relation to all those matters.

129.     Subsection (3) requires the Board to publish a statement if it overrules the National Statistician on what are purely professional statistical matters. That is, the development and maintenance of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards for any official statistics, or the application of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards to statistics produced by the Board itself.

130.     Subsection (4) requires any statements published under subsection (3) to be laid promptly before Parliament.

Section 31 National Statistician: executive functions

131.     This section establishes that, as well as being the Board's chief professional adviser, the National Statistician is also to be the Chief Executive of the Board, with direct authority to conduct the Board's business, subject to the exceptions in subsection (3).

132.     Subsection (2) enables the National Statistician to exercise any functions of the Board, except, under subsection (3), the functions of deciding whether or not to adopt or revise the Code of Practice for National Statistics, or determining whether official statistics comply with the Code.

133.     Subsection (4) allows the Board to direct the National Statistician on whether he may exercise a particular function and if so, how. This may include reserving the exercise of particular functions to the Board collectively.

134.     If there is a vacancy in the post of National Statistician, subsection (5) enables the Board to appoint one of the other two executive members of the Board to carry out the National Statistician's functions as Chief Executive.