Commentary on Sections and Schedules Part 1: the Statistics Board Section 34 Separation of functions
141.This section provides for the separation of the statistical production and assessment functions of the Board.
142.Subsection (1) prohibits the National Statistician from taking part in deliberations or decisions about the assessment or reassessment of statistics that the Board itself has produced. That does not prevent the National Statistician from making representations to the Board about those statistics but, as with other statistical producers, he may not take part in decisions by the Board, or their representatives, on the assessment or reassessment of those statistics.
143.Subsection (2) prohibits executive members of the Board who are neither the National Statistician nor the Head of Assessment, or any other staff assigned to the executive office from taking part in any deliberations or decisions in relation to assessment or re-assessment of any National Statistics, and their compliance with the Code. This applies whether the statistics in question are produced by the Board itself, or produced in other departments.
144.Under subsection (3) the Board must establish processes to ensure that employees of the Board involved in statistical production should not be engaged in advising the Board on the assessment or reassessment of those statistics (under section 12(1) and 14(1))).