Statistics and Registration Service Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to noble Lords who have contributed to this debate; it reflected the contention of the Government: we are against being overly prescriptive about the hub and the board because, as the noble Lord, Lord Newby, said, in certain areas its obligations might go beyond national statistics because of the importance of official statistics. It would need to consider that, and it could take it upon itself to exercise its functions in that scrutiny. We expect that the board will perform that kind of role, but we seek to avoid being too prescriptive in the legislation, particularly where the main issues that noble Lords have contended should be prescribed are already in the Bill. Of course the board will monitor the statistics and report on its work. That is contained in the Bill as it stands, and a case has not been made today or previously for the extra prescription sought. The noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, said that it was a matter of restoring trust. Well, is it suggested that we restore trust by putting every single duty and power of the board in the Bill? I do not see how that would lead to good practice or to good law. The board’s work will evolve as it develops. If we are overprescriptive in the legislation, we will not give the board the degree of independence that in other contexts noble Lords suggested it requires. We do not want to tie the board’s hands on every aspect of the new arrangements, but it would be unthinkable that it would not put release practices into the code for which it is responsible; nor is it conceivable that, having put the practices into the code, it would not regard it as a major duty to monitor the activities of those concerned with the release practices. That is at the very heart of the code by which the board is to be governed; it is therefore unthinkable that the board would not take very seriously its responsibilities in these areas. I apologise for the lateness of the letter on the central hub. The discrepancy between the timing in the Commons and in the Lords happened simply because the Commons Minister was responding to a debate and had the letter ready in response. I was looking on the letter as preparation for today’s debate. I regret that it was not sent out on the sitting day, Thursday—it was a mistake in the office. The slight difference between a Commons Minister and a Minister in the Lords is that a Commons Minister has direct responsibility for limited work in one department, whereas it will be recognised that I am responsible for work in three departments. Therefore, one does not always hit the very highest standards in correspondence. The letter should have been sent out on Thursday, but it is dated Friday. That is my mistake. However, the letter indicated our arguments all along: that we expect the board to take seriously these responsibilities. But the final arrangements with regard to the hub must be the board’s responsibility. The noble Lord, Lord Moser, endorsed that point. I am sure that the House will recognise that we do not need to identify this very valuable concept in legislation. It is an aid and a guide to the board on how the work will evolve to meet the highest standards. The noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, said that our primary role was to end distrust between those who read the statistics and learn about them in the media, and the Government. There are many reasons why Governments can be challenged on the question of trust; however, neither the production of statistics nor spin on statistics have been a substantial part of the country’s anxieties about government. The noble Lord will say, ““Well, it is the way the Government present the statistics””, but I do not think that the issues of trust have revolved substantially on the question of statistics. I recognise that trust between the Government and the people is of enormous significance. I cannot think of any Government who did not think that that was of enormous importance or of any who did not fall short in some respects. That is in the nature of politics and how the world changes under government. It is difficult to contend that at the heart of the problems of government is how statistics have been handled, but in so far as that is an issue, it will be recognised that the Bill—the first to be concerned with national statistics for 60 years—would create an independent board with a clear specification on which it needs to act and on its role. We seek in the Bill to create an independent board that will take responsibility for its actions, and we are being prescriptive in legislation only where we need to be. The Bill is already sufficient in those terms, and I hope therefore that the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw her Motion.