Official Statistics Order 2009

I am afraid that the noble Lord misunderstands me. I am not suggesting that the system was working properly on that date. I am saying that it that caused a furore, and caused Parliament and Ministers to respond. It caused an apology to be received by the House of Commons. That shows that attention is paid to the issue. In that sense, it is working—not that this error was in any way permissible. I was starting to outline how we are trying to ensure that it is not repeated. I know that confession is good for the soul, and that the Opposition are demanding apologies. An apology has been made on this, and I have nothing to add to that. Of course, in Gus O’Donnell’s and Kevin Brennan’s letters, they said what happened and there had been an apology. It is more important in many ways that we ensure that we take forward action to ensure that it cannot be repeated. On the actors’ role on that occasion and why the National Statistician’s intervention did not prevent the statistics being produced, she phoned No. 10 at 8 am but the press release had been released the previous evening on the basis of a midnight embargo. In that sense, preventing the release of the statistics was not practical. However, that is history and we know the problems that it caused. Since then, the Government have ensured that the action taken cannot be repeated. They have produced and circulated to all appropriate persons in Whitehall a memorandum on exactly how statistics are to be treated in future to ensure that it does not happen again. Michael Scholar was invited, and spoke, to the permanent secretaries’ conference to ensure that it does not happen again. There was a lesson to be learnt, which I believe has been learnt. A number of other points were made that I will try and respond to, but I—