United Kingdom Statistics Authority

Priti Patel Excerpts

Tuesday 13th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins), a fellow member of the Public Administration Committee. I was at the hearing at which we interviewed Mr Dilnot—in fact, it was my first day on the Committee—and I was overwhelmed by his enthusiasm and passion and the degree of animation with which he spoke about statistics. On that basis, it gives me great pleasure to endorse his recommendation.

I wish to add to the points that have already been made one that has been spoken about only briefly, which is Mr Dilnot’s capacity to become a cheerleader for statistics. We have heard a great deal about the cynicism and negativity associated with statistics, but one of the strongest points that came out of our hearing with him was that he wanted to do significant work to change the perception of statistics. He wants not just to do that for the cynical oldies among us but to engage young people in statistics and increase their understanding of them.

As the hon. Member for Luton North pointed out, Mr Dilnot is passionate about statistics. Those of us who have had the privilege of studying statistics, maths or economics in the past will understand the significance of stats to our daily lives and well-being and what they mean to society as a whole. Mr Dilnot spoke about that with great enthusiasm and commitment, and he went as far as to state that it would be a priority for him.

Members have made points about the integrity of statistics. Mr Dilnot’s appointment provides a tremendous opportunity to redefine the relationship with statistics of all of us—the Government, the public and future generations. I wholeheartedly support the recommendation in the Committee’s report, and I hope that the appointment goes through with no flaws or problems at all.