UK Statistics Authority Annual Report and 2019/20 Accounts Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20 ISBN 978-1-5286-1218-0 CCS0419089792 07/20 HC 554 HC 554 UK Statistics Authority Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20 Accounts presented to the House of Commons pursuant to section 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 Accounts presented to the House of Lords by Command of Her Majesty Annual Report presented to Parliament pursuant to section 27(2) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 Annual Report presented to the Scottish Parliament pursuant to section 27(2) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 Annual Report presented to the Welsh Parliament pursuant to section 27(2) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 Annual Report presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly pursuant to section 27(2) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 14 July 2020 HC 554 UKSA/2020/01 Note: UK Statistics Authority is referred to as ‘the Statistics Board’ in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 This is part of a series of departmental publications which, along with the Main Estimates 2019/20 and the document Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses 2013, present the Government’s outturn for 2019/20 and planned expenditure for 2020/21. © Crown copyright 2020 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/official-documents Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: UK Statistics Authority Statistics House Tredegar Park Newport South Wales NP10 8XG Tel: 0845 604 1857 International: +44 (0)845 604 1857 Minicom: 01633 815 044 Email: [email protected] Fax: 01633 456 179 ISBN 978-1-5286-1835-9 CCS0320362068 07/20 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Contents Introduction ............................................................ 1 Chair’s Foreword ...................................................................... 2 01 Chief Executive’s Report ......................................................... 3 Performance ............................................................ 9 Purposes and Activity .............................................................. 11 02 Strategic Objectives ................................................................ 14 Overview ................................................................................... 16 Performance Analysis ............................................................. 19 Key Performance Indicators .................................................. 38 Resources and Organisation .................................................. 41 Corporate Responsibility ........................................................ 45 Accountability Report ............................................ 51 Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities ............ 52 03 Governance Statement ........................................................... 54 Summary Financial Information ............................................ 73 Remuneration Report ............................................................. 81 Staff Report .............................................................................. 91 Civil Service Pensions ............................................................. 102 Statement of Parliamentary Supply ...................................... 105 The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons................. 112 Accounts .................................................................. 117 Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure .................. 118 04 Statement of Financial Position ............................................. 119 Statement of Cash Flows ........................................................ 120 Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity ......................... 121 Notes to the Accounts ............................................ 122 1. Statement of Accounting Policies and Accounting Convention .............................................. 122 2. Segmental Information of Expenditure and Income ..... 136 3. Staff Numbers and related Costs ..................................... 140 4. Programme Costs ............................................................... 141 5. Income .................................................................................. 142 6. Property, plant and equipment ......................................... 143 7. Intangible Fixed Assets ....................................................... 145 8. Financial Instruments ......................................................... 150 9. Trade Receivables and Other Assets ................................ 150 10. Cash and Cash Equivalents .............................................. 152 11. Trade Payables and Other Current Liabilities ................ 152 12. Provisions for Liabilities and Charges ............................ 153 13. Capital Commitments ....................................................... 154 14. Commitments Under Leases ........................................... 154 16. Contingent Liabilities ........................................................ 155 17. Related Party Transactions .............................................. 155 18. Events Arising after the Reporting Date ........................ 156 19. Date of Authorisation of the Accounts ........................... 156 Annex: Office for Statistics Regulation 2019/20 ... 158 Our Purpose and Vision .......................................................... 160 2019/20 Highlights .................................................................. 162 Our Performance .................................................................... 164 Introduction 01 Chair’s Foreword This is our annual report for 2019/20. It feels as though it looks back to another world. But the past year was important for the UK Statistics Authority and for its two arms, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). The work they did then and in the previous years has provided the basis for the things they have both done to help inform the nation during the pandemic. I believe they really have lived up to the objective set in our founding legislation, that of safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. I feel proud of what they have achieved, and they should too. This report touches on some of the changes of the past few months, but the detail will be for next year. For this report the important points are how Better Statistics Better Decisions (BSBD), the strategy set nearly five years ago, has pointed the way to a more outward looking and responsive ONS, with people and the technology willing and able to cope with faster change, and in the Digital Economy Act, supported by legislation to drive quicker use of administrative data. Similarly, OSR, a creation of the Bean Review, has grown in capability and independent stature, and become fleeter of foot. The successor strategy to BSBD will be published in the summer and I look forward then to explaining the next phase of our development. The past year saw three National Statisticians: John Pullinger who retired after five successful years, Ian Diamond whom we welcomed in the autumn, and Jonathan Athow who ably led the ONS during the interregnum. It also saw the retirement of Adrian Smith, who was on the Board when the Authority began, was Deputy Chair and Chair of the Regulation Committee among so many other contributions. I am deeply grateful to them, to the members of the Authority Board, and above all to the thousands of people who work in the ONS and OSR, who have continued to produce excellent data and analysis, and have not just maintained their authoritative voice but are gaining ever stronger recognition of the importance of objective understanding of our society and economy. David Norgrove Chair, UK Statistics Authority 7 July 2020 Sir David Norgrove Chief Executive’s Report This is my first Annual Report since taking up the post of National Statistician in October 2019. I am delighted to lead the UK Statistics Authority at a pivotal moment; my predecessor, John Pullinger CB, has laid the foundation for a radical transformation of the information available to the UK on our environment, economy and society. Since joining I have spent considerable time listening to colleagues including those from the government statistical service, analysis function and wider research community. I have discussed our ambitious plans for more streamlined access, use and sharing of data with ministers and other senior officials from across government and beyond, whose appetite for more data, in richer forms than ever before is only growing as part of enabling a data informed policy agenda. The global pandemic of COVID-19 is just one example of where more timely access to data can help us better understand how this new disease could impact our economy and those most vulnerable within our society and what can be done about it. All of this work, along