The Creation of the Office for National Statistics

Abstract

A new Office for National Statistics was created in the United Kingdom in 19% following a series of developments designed to strengthen the relevance and integrity of statistics. This paper describes these fundamental changes and sets out a blueprint for future progress. It also sets current developments in the United Kingdom in an historical and international context.

The Politics of the Census: Lessons from Abroad

“…Interestingly, anxiety about the quality of data produced, far more than ideology, has driven the overhaul of Britain's statistical system over the past 20 years. After several government reviews questioned the quality of the statistics being produced by Government Statistical Service (GSS), and the Royal Statistical Society (1990) noted that there was a serious erosion of public confidence in UK official statistics, the government centralized responsibility for statistics in a new Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 1996 (Pullinger 1997). Since this development the British government has furthered its pursuit of an autonomous statistical agency.…”

Nutritional status and food-related quality of life in free-living older adults

“…Although institutionalised older adults have been shown to be at high risk of malnutrition (2) , previous research has shown that, even among independent older people, 3 % of men and 6 % of women are underweight (3) . With the proportion of the UK population that is over 75 years of age likely to double in the next 40 years (4) , and 10 % of the UK free-living older population classified as underweight (5) , screening for nutritional status should be undertaken routinely in elderly patients living at home to determine their risk of malnutrition (6) . The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status, dietary variety and factors affecting satisfaction with food-related quality of life in older people living in their own homes.…”