Committee publication · Correspondence · 3 September 2025 · HC 847

Letter from Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on UK Statistics Authority and Office for National Statistics, dated 22.7.25

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Inquiry: The work of the UK Statistics Authority

Summary

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden responds to PACAC's July letter on the UK Statistics Authority and Office for National Statistics. He confirms Penny Young as interim UKSA Chair, clarifies recruitment processes for the UKSA Chair and National Statistician roles, explains the lawfulness of the new dual Permanent Secretary governance arrangement, and commits to rebuilding trust in the statistics institute.

Key findings

Penny Young confirmed as Deputy Chair and will become interim Chair in autumn, following a pause on Deputy Chair recruitment since January 2025 due to culture and performance concerns.
UKSA Chair recruitment panel will include a PACAC member and Sir John Aston (former UKSA Board member); no current UKSA Board member will be appointed to the panel to avoid skewing accountability relationships.
National Statistician and Permanent Secretary are civil service roles governed by Civil Service Commission principles; MPs are not involved in recruitment or pre-appointment hearings for civil service posts.
Dual Permanent Secretary arrangement is legally compliant: legislation does not preclude two Permanent Secretaries; precedent exists at HMRC (2016–17) and Cabinet Office (current model with Cabinet Secretary).
Government acknowledges serious issues at UKSA/ONS and prioritises securing exceptional leaders to rebuild trust, improve core statistics, and implement recommendations from the Devereux Review and PACAC inquiry.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-governancepublic-administrationstatisticscivil-service-appointments

Key actors

Pat McFadden, Simon Hoare, Penny Young, Sir Robert (UKSA Chair departing), Emma Rourke, Sir John Aston, UK Statistics Authority, Office for National Statistics

Notable line

“It is important that we rebuild trust and confidence in our nation's statistics institute.”

Key Quotes

“As a Non Ministerial Department the UKSA is operationally independent and is directly accountable to Parliament through your Committee.”
— Pat McFadden · on UKSA's statutory role

“Within the Government it is unusual for a member of a Board to be involved in the appointment of their future Chair and boss as it skews accountability relationships.”
— Pat McFadden · explaining why no UKSA Board member will join the Chair recruitment panel

“The Permanent Secretary job description is enclosed with this letter. We hope to be in a position to appoint within a month.”
— Pat McFadden · on ONS Permanent Secretary recruitment timeline

“This is unusual but not unlawful: the Act makes no mention of Principal Accounting Officer status and Managing Public Money states that the most senior official in a department is 'usually' the Principal Accounting Officer, but does not mandate it.”
— Pat McFadden · defending the dual Permanent Secretary governance structure

“It is important that we rebuild trust and confidence in our nation's statistics institute.”
— Pat McFadden · on government priorities for UKSA/ONS

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗