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Article: New statistics watchdog to 'name and shame' ministers who mislead
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- April 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Ministers who misuse official statistics will in future be "named
and shamed" by a new official statistics "watchdog".
Sir Michael Scholar, the chair of the UK Statistics Authority
(UKSA), which is established today, told The Independent: "If a
minister makes an announcement in relation to a department where the
effect is to undermine official statistics, then we will publicly
counter that. If we have to name and shame ministers, we will". He
has pledged to restore faith in public data.
While the majority of official figures will still lie outside the
direct control of the UKSA and, under it, the Office for National
Statistics, the UKSA will have the right to "kitemark" the numbers