SCOTTISH Ministers should not be given early access to official statistics to guard against the numbers being “spun” or “buried”, MSPs have been told. The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) has called for the rules in Scotland, which allow ministers and officials access up to five days before publication, to be revised.
The RSS said the current system “undermines public trust” in official statistics. Earlier this year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), scrapped its pre-release access for ministers.
Holyrood’s Economy Committee will hear from the RSS’s Martin Weale, pictured, today as part of its inquiry into economic data in Scotland. In a written submission to the committee, the RSS said: “As far as Scottish Ministers’ current autonomy is concerned, the RSS strongly urges the committee to call for Scotland’s current rules on pre-release access to be revised, stating: “We believe that such privileged access undermines public trust in official statistics as, for example, it creates opportunities for figures to be ‘spun’ to the media or ‘buried’ beneath other announcements.
“These arrangements now look in urgent need of reform especially as, since the early summer, pre-release access to ONS’s official statistics has been completely abolished elsewhere.”
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