Downing Street Says » Statistics Commission Letter to DfES

» Thursday, September 21, 2006

Statistics Commission Letter to DfES

Put that the letter from the Commission clearly indicated the political advisers in the Department for Education & Skills (DfES) had put pressure on the statistician, and that this was something we thought had been stopped, the PMOS disagreed with journalists. He said the Statistics Commission had confirmed it was the DfES chief statistician who took the decision to publish the results and no one else. The PMOS said it had also been confirmed that publication took place on the earliest possible date, and this decision was consistent with the national statistics code of practice. Equally the Commission had recommended changes in procedures and DfES said they would consider these recommendations very carefully.

Put that what had happened called into question the conduct of the special advisers, the PMOS repeated that the letter actually said the chief statistician at DfES took the decision and no one else.

Asked if any pressure had been put on the statistician of the department, the PMOS reiterated that the Statistics Commission said the chief statistician took the decision to publish the results when they were published, and that they were published on the earliest possible date. Asked again if the PMOS could assure journalists that no pressure was put on the statistician of the department, the PMOS reminded journalists of what the Statistics Commission had said.

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