When Jil Matheson took over from Karen Dunnell as National Statistician and head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this summer, she also inherited the job of leading the government’s professional network of statisticians.

This is appropriate, given that over half of all civil service statisticians work at the ONS. However, Matheson is keen to point out that, although her team at the ONS lead the Government Statistical Service (GSS), major policies – including the production of a competency framework – are developed in a committee made up of senior statisticians from across Whitehall.

Although she’s spent the entirety of her own career at the agency, starting in 1975 at one of its defunct predecessor bodies – the Office for Population, Censuses and Surveys – Matheson says that one of her priorities as head of profession is encouraging a greater sense of common identity among statisticians, regardless of whether they work for the ONS or a department.

“It’s one of the things I want to do more on,” she says. “There are statisticians across departments and agencies, and GSS does give them opportunities to join up, but there’s always more to be done to strengthen the identity and the esprit de corps.”

Building that professional identity isn’t just good for its own sake; it also makes for better use of statistics, says Matheson, and gives civil service statisticians the self-confidence to defend the quality of their research – particularly when they feel it’s being used inappropriately.

It’s an important issue for the entire profession, given the furore last year after the government was caught mishandling knife crime statistics. The UK Statistics Authority has been constituted to act as an independent watchdog on the publication of official data and has already made some high-profile interventions (see Sir Michael Scholar interview, Whitehall & Westminster World, 10 February, p9). But Matheson encourages all professionals to be forthright in such circumstances.

“As a statistician, if someone has misunderstood what I’ve done or misused what I’ve done, I take it upon myself to tell them that,” she says. “Part of our responsibility is to make sure we explain what we do clearly… then the debate can be about the policy or the politics, and not about the numbers.”

She also downplays the suggestion that there’s a tension between the work of ONS statisticians and those embedded in departments, stressing that exactly the same code of practice applies to all civil service data-crunchers.

What’s more, Matheson says, she wants to see more interchange of professionals between the ONS and departments – though the location of the ONS headquarters in Newport might make this impractical for some.

On the subject of statisticians working in departments, Matheson is keen to see them involve themselves in the policymaking process as early as possible, helping to ensure that policy is grounded in a solid evidence base. This is an ambition she shares with the heads of the other research professions: the scientists, economists, operational researchers and social researchers.

And she wants to build closer links with them; no one profession has a monopoly on analysing “the big cross-cutting subjects, whether it’s climate change or the ageing population, or whatever”, she says. “Bringing those skills together will create more impact.”

As well as learning from the researchers inside government, she stresses that UK statisticians must also build links with colleagues in other countries, particularly within the EU. Several statistical resources, including the Labour Force Survey, are already produced to agreed international standards, and Matheson says the UK census being undertaken in March 2011 is the ideal opportunity to increase such collaboration.

“There’s lots of work internationally going on for the census,” she says. “Lots of other countries are doing a census in 2010-11, so we are doing a lot of learning and sharing of best practice.”

As well as the census, the biggest recession since the Second World War as driven up curiosity about – and scrutiny of – the work of statisticians. “I don’t think I can remember a time when what we do has been in more demand,” Matheson says.

“The level of interest and scrutiny, and the demand for timely information on the economy; the impact of the recession on the labour market and various groups, is all very high.” Not that she or the statisticians she leads are complaining – all professionals like their work to be in demand.

Demand has also risen for government statisticians’ jobs, as graduates with numerical degrees have been less easily seduced by a career in the financial sector. Matheson confirms that recruitment for the statistics fast stream this year was “very successful”.

She’s not certainly not shy about selling the profession. “At the moment, there are a lot of talented people who recognise the joys and benefits of a really interesting career in government statistics,” she says with satisfaction.

Statisticians: Who are they? And what do they do?

Who: The Government Statistical Service includes statisticians, analysts and support staff involved in the “collection, production, analysis and dissemination” of official statistics. The network covers statisticians based in departments and agencies in England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland, though the majority work directly for the Office for National Statistics itself.

Statisticians collate and interpret information on a vast range of citizens’ activities, on everything from population patterns and economic activity to public health.

What: Within the broader GSS, which includes support staff, there is a smaller group of accredited statisticians. These enter the civil service through a special section of the fast stream, becoming either assistant statisticians or full statistical officers. Applicants are required to have a first- or second-class honours degree in a numerical subject.

GSS members must adhere to a code of practice, which calls for staff to ensure statistics are “trustworthy and trusted”.

Looking ahead: Matheson’s priorities

Professional standards
Matheson stresses the importance of “maintaining standards in a world that is changing rapidly”. This also means keeping up with the needs of policymakers to ensure statistics are relevant. “One of my favourite words is relevance: statistics have got to be relevant. And they’ve got to be up-to-date, measuring things that really matter to decision-makers inside and outside government.”

Engaging the public
Matheson wants citizens to better understand what government statisticians do, and be able to use the available information themselves. “There’s a mass of information out there, and helping people navigate their way through it to make sense of the world we live in is a really important part of our role.”

Professional confidence
Building on the work of her predecessor Karen Dunnell, Matheson says she wants to lead “self-confident statisticians whose contribution is recognised and valued.”

NUMBER CRUNCHING

6,700 members of the Government Statistical Service, including statisticians, analysts and support staff
1,300 accredited statisticians working
within government
41 government departments or agencies in which statisticians work
1996 Office for National Statistics formed by merging the Central Statistical Office with the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys
2009 New code of practice published and overseen by a new UK Statistics Authority
8 core principles in the Code of Practice for Statistics
80 per cent of statistics produced by government meet those standards, thus qualifying as ‘national statistics’
£24,000 starting salary for a statistical officer in London