Commentary on Sections and Schedules Part 1: the Statistics Board Section 30 National Statistician: advisory functions
128.This section establishes the National Statistician as the Board’s chief professional adviser on the quality and comprehensiveness of, and good practice in relation to, official statistics. Subsection (2) requires that the Board take account of the National Statistician’s advice in relation to all those matters.
129.Subsection (3) requires the Board to publish a statement if it overrules the National Statistician on what are purely professional statistical matters. That is, the development and maintenance of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards for any official statistics, or the application of definitions, methodologies, classifications and standards to statistics produced by the Board itself.
130.Subsection (4) requires any statements published under subsection (3) to be laid promptly before Parliament.