Official Statistics Order 2008

I promise not to delay the patient Minister for long. Like other noble Lords, I welcome the creation of the new board under the chairmanship of Sir Michael Scholar. As the Minister set out—I use his words—among its many duties from 1 April will be its responsibility to assess the quality and integrity of all key statistics in an independent manner. As the Minister has stressed today, I realise that this is the first order that will be brought before us and that it is a first shot. Further orders will be laid and schedules listing other organisations will be before us before long. I do not wish to diminish the importance of the organisations on this list—from the Hearing Aid Council to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. They are all extremely important. The reason for my short intervention is to ask the Minister to explain whether any consideration has been given so far to the inclusion of the Bank of England—the key organisation that will make the new body more effective and which should be included on a subsequent schedule. If the Bank of England is omitted from its work, the new body will have far less credibility in future than we all hope it will possess. If the Minister has not considered the inclusion of the Bank of England on this schedule, would he elaborate on whether he expects this to change when he lays the next order? What consideration might he and his colleagues give to the inclusion of the Bank of England? As the Minister has explained, and other Members of the Committee have observed, the Government retain the right to determine the scope of national statistics and the organisations that can be placed on this and subsequent schedules. I shall not delay the Committee in underlining why the Bank of England should be included in future. It is clear that the credibility of the new body will depend on the Bank of England appearing on a future schedule. I very much hope that the Minister will be able to explain, if not today but perhaps in writing as soon as possible, what consideration has been given to that organisation.