In 1990, the Royal Statistical Society published a critical report, Counting with Confidence , about the governance of the statistical service. These concerns were partly addressed when, in 1991, the CSO was given Executive Agency status. Its Framework Document set out clearly the respective roles of the Director and of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and also marked a clear departure from the Rayner doctrine by putting the focus on the quality of service provided to customers both in and outside government. The White Paper on Open Government in 1993 provided final confirmation that the Rayner doctrine had been overturned, spelling out that official statistics were required also for the citizen. Then, in 1995, the Head of the GSS published the Official Statistics Code of Practice which set out the principles and practices which should govern all official statistical work, including setting out the statistician s responsibilities for determining when and how statistics should be released.
Further details are at annex A .
Current Framework for Official Statistics 2.7. The GSS is the major provider of official statistics in the United Kingdom. It offers a wide range of statistical products and services to government, Parliament and the wider community. Official statistical work covers a wide range of tasks including the collection, analysis and publication of statistics, statistical support for departmental and agency functions, and policy-related work for Ministers. It covers all areas of national life - for example, the economy, employment, population, crime, education and health.