Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to assist the UN's Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in its mandate to raise global awareness and facilitate dialogue sessions with policymakers to build trust in official statistics.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Lord Clement-Jones CBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

28 April 2026

Dear Lord Clement-Jones,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions, asking whether the UK submitted any nominations for the UN Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, and what steps they are taking to ensure UK expertise contributes to the Board's global mandate(HL16600); what, if any, financial or human resources they plan to contribute to the UN Statistics Division to support the operations of the UN's Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (HL16601); whether the UK Statistics Authority will outline the national mechanisms in place in the UK to resolve issues regarding adherence to the UN's Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, in light of the UN Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics' principle of subsidiarity (HL16602); how the UK Statistics Authority plans to engage with the UN's Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to ensure that UK statistical producers adopt the Board's forthcoming updated implementation guidelines (HL16603) and how the UK Statistics Authority plan to assist the UN's Consultative Advisory Board on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in its mandate to raise global awareness and facilitate dialogue sessions with policymakers to build trust in official statistics (HL16604)

The UK was involved in the development of the Consultative Advisory Board and its terms of reference, alongside like-minded partners, to ensure it is relevant and impactful for those who request its support. The ONS was not asked to be a member of the board, and its membership was nominated by the Bureau of the UN Statistical Commission. It is worth noting that membership rotates and the UK will have the opportunity to join in the future.

The UK continues to support the work of the UN Statistical Division, as it is one of the most prominent organisations working in global statistics. We are a member of the wider UN Statistical Commission’s membership and have been since its creation1. We continue to provide resource through our engagement and chairing of UN working groups and bureaus, leading the delivery of projects relevant to the production and dissemination of statistics.

The Code of Practice for Statistics2 sets standards that producers of official statistics should commit to and is already consistent with the UN Fundamental Principles. This is maintained by the Office for Statistics Regulation, the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority.

The ONS will engage with the work of the Consultative Advisory Board through the usual member state engagement conducted for updates to manuals and guidelines produced by the UN Statistical Commission, the UN Statistical Division, or its regional commissions. This process is outlined with the terms of reference3 for the board.

Finally, the ONS regularly assists in efforts to highlight the importance of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, taking part in events to increase their profile, including its 30th anniversary events in 20244. In addition to this, as mentioned above, we will oversee the work of the Advisory Board, engaging directly with its annual reports, and we will play an active role in the review of the Board’s work that is expected to be completed after its first year. This will help to ensure the work is impactful and relevant for statistical producers, whose outputs policy makers rely upon.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

1. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/57th-session/documents/Membership-2026.pdf

2. https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Code-of-Practice-for-Statistics-3.0.pdf

3. https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_57/documents/BG-3a- FPOS_CAB_Background_document_rev3-E.pdf

4. https://unece.org/FPOS30#accordion_6