High-level committees
Governance of ONS is effected through three high-level committees:
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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. It does this as part of its wider responsibility to promote and safeguard the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. The Board comprises of:
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the chair of the Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar
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two deputy chairs, Lord Rowe-Beddoe and Professor Sir Roger Jowell
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five other non-executive members
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the Authority's Chief Executive and National Statistician, Jil Matheson
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The Authority’s Head of Assessment, Richard Alldritt
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ONS's Director General, Stephen Penneck
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- The Statistics Authority has delegated routine oversight of ONS to a sub-committee known as the O NS Board. This body has responsibility for agreeing and monitoring the annual ONS budget and advising on operational matters, such as staffing and property. This ensures that the Authority discharges its responsibility in respect of the governance of ONS and that ONS is accountable for its progress in meeting its objectives. This board is chaired by Lord Rowe-Beddoe and attended by the National Statistician, three non-executive board members, and four executive members. Other senior members of ONS staff attend on an ad hoc basis to discuss particular issues.
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The day-to-day operation of ONS is managed by an Executive Committee (EC), which consists of the Director-General and other ONS Directors.
The work of each of these bodies is supported by a series of cross-cutting committees covering topic-specific areas. These are outlined below.
Cross-cutting committees
The ONS Executive Committee is supported by a number of supporting boards and committees:
Publishing Strategy and Standards Committee (PSSC)
The Publishing Strategy and Standards Committee is responsible for aligning ONS's publishing objectives with its corporate vision.
It oversees all aspects of ONS’s statistical release portfolio including a comprehensive publishing and editorial strategy. Its primary purpose is to shape the vision, strategy and priorities for all its published content.
Publishing includes digital media publications, while editorial relates to statistics and its supporting content (commentary and analysis).
Investment and Planning Committee (IPC)
The IPC’s role is to lead planning and prioritisation for ONS, deciding and monitoring allocation of resources, and managing the strategic portfolio of ONS programmes and projects.
Statisical Planning Committee (Planning)
The Statistical Planning Committee is the forum which ensures the high-level planning and delivery of the statistical aspects of the ONS Business Plan (the Statistical Work Programme) in their widest sense - that is, existing outputs as well as new developments.
Statistical Policy Committee (SPC)
The Statistical Policy Committee develops the statistical policies and standards which will enable ONS to become a world leader in statistics.
Information Assurance and Exploitation Committee (IAEC)
This committee ensures that a consistent approach to managing information is taken and consideration of the exploitation of information and the way it is handled, is at the centre of all decision-making processes.
People Committee (People)
The People Committee considers issues relating to the management and well being of ONS's People.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee supports the UK Statistics Authority Board, the Authority's Chief Executive and Principal Accounting Officer and the Secondary Accounting Officer, the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in their responsibilities for issues of risk control and governance.
It does this by reviewing the comprehensiveness, reliability and integrity of assurances in meeting the Authority and Accounting Officers' assurance needs.
The Committee acts in a scrutiny and advisory capacity and has no executive authority.
