Introduction by the Scottish Executive Chief Statistician Devolution has had a major impact on the need for statistics. As the scale and nature of policymaking develops so too the need for hard information to support the policymaking process and public debate has increased. This first Scottish Executive Statistics Plan contains proposals to continue recent developments in key areas of information such as the economy and education. The Executive's programme is about working together.
Statistics can provide a shared understanding of Scotland's needs and opportunities.
This in turn provides a basis for working in partnership within Scotland and beyond. The Plan contains firm proposals to develop partnership working on statistics and other ways of involving users and providers . The Scottish Executive has identified important cross cutting policy issues. The statistics service in Scotland is firmly based on the principle of cross cutting working and is responding positively to this emerging need. The plan builds on recent work on social justice and addresses needs in other key areas such as equality and rural Scotland.