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On 1 April 2008, and in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was abolished as a department of the Treasury and an executive agency, and instead became the 'executive office' of the newly-formed UK Statistics Authority.

Notwithstanding this change, ONS still stands at the apex of the UK statistical system, being the UK Government's main survey organisation, main producer of official statistics and the 'face' of the UK within the European Statistical System (ESS). The Director of ONS, Karen Dunnell, is the Authority's chief executive and her role is equivalent to that of a departmental permanent secretary and principal accounting officer. Karen also wears two other hats; as the 'National Statistician', she is the Authority's chief professional adviser and the head of the Government Statistical Service.

In accordance with other provisions in the Statistics Act, her previous role as registrar-general for England and Wales has been transferred to the Home Office.

Governance of ONS is effected through two high-level committees:

• The Statistics Authority's Board provides the top level of governance for ONS, overseeing its strategic direction, providing leadership and establishing the overall policy framework in which ONS can operate. The Board comprises the chair of the Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar, two deputy chairs, Lord Rowe-Beddoe and Professor Adrian Smith, five other non-executive members, the UK Statistics Authority's chief executive, Karen Dunnell, and two other senior ONS officials. More information can be found on the UK Statistics Authority's website

• The ONS Executive Management Group (EMG) is responsible for overseeing and directing the day-to-day management of the office. It is comprised of the National Statistician/director, the two directors general, and the directors responsible for each of the Office's main workstreams. It meets on a monthly basis

The work of each of these two high-level bodies is supported by a series of cross-cutting committees covering topic-specific areas. In the case of ONS, these other committees have the authority to take decisions on behalf of the EMG and each month their respective committee chairs report to the EMG on decisions taken, issues to be referred up to the Statistics Authority's Board and key activities, as appropriate. Each committee meets monthly and has up to three executive directors in membership (alongside other senior managers).

In January 2008, the National Statistician introduced two changes to the ONS governance structure by appointing two directors general (DGs) within the Office:

• the Director General for Statistics Delivery, Jil Matheson, is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, quality and timeliness of all ONS statistical outputs

• the Director General for transformation, Rolande Anderson, is responsible for ensuring a genuine and sustained transformation of ONS with a particular focus on skills, working systems and organisational structure

Factors influencing these appointments include:

• the new Statistics Act. Independence sets new challenges for ONS and additional demands on senior management. In particular, the UK Statistics Authority and the National Statistician will have the opportunity to play a more significant role in the development of all official statistics, not just those classified as National Statistics

• the opportunity to strengthen the senior management, in the light of responses to staff surveys

• new structures implemented across the Senior Civil Service (SCS). Old grades are being phased out and all departments are now required to move to a consistent structure with just three SCS grades below permanent secretary:

-   directors general (Pay Band 3)
-   directors – the former ONS executive and group directors (Pay Band 2)
-   deputy directors – the former ONS divisional directors (Pay Band 1)

 Historical Background

The original Office for National Statistics was created in 1996 through a merger of the Central Statistical Office (created in 1941) and the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys (created in 1970). Ministerial responsibility for ONS was, at the time, vested in the Treasury which set out the governance arrangements for the new Office in the 'ONS Framework' document. Additional roles and responsibilities were assigned to the director of ONS with the publication of the 'Framework for National Statistics' in June 2000.