Official Statistics Order 2008

I am grateful to the Minister for carefully setting out the background to the order. It reminds me of the heady days of last year when we considered the Bill. The Minister gave a masterful exposition of the difference between official and national statistics, which reminded me why we sought to abolish this difference. Given that one of the arguments for the order is, as I understand it, that by making the statistics produced by these bodies official statistics they can in some cases become national statistics in due course, the relevant list is very curious because it contains both significant and relatively insignificant bodies. I can, for example, imagine why the statistics produced by the Audit Commission for Local Authorities and by the National Health Service in England and Wales might become national statistics and be of considerable concern. However, I find it very difficult to understand why the Hearing Aid Council would produce statistics of equal significance. I think that the reason for this lies in the somewhat tortured and artificial distinction between official and national statistics which the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, pointed out. I have three questions about the order. First, it concerns England and Wales. What will happen in Scotland? Is there a process that the new Statistics Board will follow to ensure that when bodies in England and Wales are included in the framework an equivalent process takes place in Scotland so that the Hearing Aid Council for Scotland, for example, can be brought within the purview of the legislation? My second question relates to the revenue implications of the order and more generally the current position in respect of resources available to the Statistics Board. When considering the Bill we spent a lot of time discussing whether the new Statistics Board would have an adequate number of highly qualified statisticians to do its work, particularly bearing in mind the move to Newport. Considerable fears were expressed in this House and by members of the statistics community that the new board would in effect be hobbled because it would not have enough highly qualified statisticians to do its work properly. As the order adds bodies that will be scrutinised by the Statistics Board, the question of resources is obviously highly relevant. My third question relates to other orders that will come forward under the Bill. This is the first such order and must be about the least significant one that we are likely to see. Significant issues are still to emerge, not least of which is the question of pre-release activity on which the Government sensibly engaged in consultation that is now completed. However, if it is important that these bodies should be legally within the framework of the Statistics Board on day one, it is also important that the Statistics Board should have a legal framework on day one within which to operate in respect of pre-release. Can the Minister tell us when the order relating to pre-release will come forward? We have no problems with the substance of the order, but it gives rise to a number of underlying issues that still cause us concern.