The Royal Statistical Society has welcomed Andrew Dilnot in his new role chair of the UK Statistics Authority and praised the work of his predecessor, Sir Michael Scholar. The handover took effect on 1 April 2012, four years after the UK Statistics Authority was created by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Royal Statistical Society President, Valerie Isham, said:

“Parliament took a vital step in setting up the UK Statistics Authority in 2008, to act both as quality assurer of UK official statistics and an impartial watchdog against their misuse and abuse.

“Sir Michael Scholar has succeeded in building an effective organisation which is credible and authoritative. He has proven a robust and effective champion for statistical independence and integrity.

“Andrew Dilnot is a superb choice to build upon the excellent work of Sir Michael. Andrew has always been a passionate champion of statistics and has brought this enthusiasm and commitment to his work as chair of our Statistics User Forum for the past two years.”

In a submission to the Public Administration select committee inquiry on priorities for the UK Statistics Authority in mid-2011, the Royal Statistical Society identified five headline areas for attention:

• Promoting the need for coordination in the decentralised and devolved UK statistical system; this includes keeping under review current cuts in spending and “sounding the alarm” if any cuts appear to damage the overall integrity of the system
• Ensuring that government statisticians pay more attention to all actual and potential users, not just those in central government departments
• Supporting the National Statistician in improving the status of official statisticians and in enhancing their professional development
• Dealing satisfactorily with the Authority’s dual role in both producing and scrutinising official statistics
• Above all, taking all possible steps to improve public confidence in official statistics