Following the recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking the National Statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, to review how we can improve the way public service productivity is measured, the Office for National Statistics has confirmed the arrangements for the governance of the review.
The review will be overseen by a Sponsorship Group, made up of Sir Ian and two Second Permanent Secretaries from HM Treasury, Cat Little and Sam Beckett. A Steering Group, co-chaired by Grant Fitzner of the ONS and HM Treasury’s Nick Donlevy, will support the decision making of the Sponsorship Group. Under this, the ONS project lead will be Richard Heys.
With the first deliverable required for the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, work on the project is under way and is expected to run over the next two years.
The ONS is working closely with users, analysts and public service experts in other government departments and academia to develop and improve our data sources and methods to drive forward better public service productivity measures and quality adjusted estimates of public sector output. With public services equating to around 20% of UK GDP, it’s vital that statistics in this area provide a true reflection of productivity levels in the public sector and are reported as accurately and effectively as possible.
There will be regular updates to keep everyone informed of our progress. In the meantime, the review team can be contacted by emailing PSP.Review@ons.gov.uk.