New group formed to ensure Statistics Jersey’s independence

Thursday 18 February 2021

An official group has been set up to improve the law underpinning Statistics Jersey after concerns emerged about its independence.

Assistant Minister Deputy Kirsten Morel will be chairing the steering group, working alongside former Education Minister Senator Tracey Vallois.

It comes after Express revealed last month that there had been a two-year struggle to get the Statistics Law updated, preceding the departure of the island’s Chief Statistician, Dr Duncan Gibaut, just months before the 2021 census.

Among the key issues was that those working in the unit, which is responsible for producing impartial reports on everything from house prices to the economy and islanders’ health, were employed as civil servants.

This officially prevented them from being able to make any comments on Government data, even to States Members - something they were supposed to be able to do without fear of repercussion under the Statistics and Census Law passed in 2018. 

Pictured: Statistics Jersey is responsible for putting out impartial reports on many different aspects of island life.

This had been raised with Government officials looking at reshaping their operations, but the law proposals they returned were deemed a “step backwards” in ensuring Statistics Jersey’s independence and ones still which left the Chief Statistician “constrained”. 

This conflict was confirmed by the Chief Minister following Express’s report, although he denied that it had any material impact on the work of the body. 

There were also worries that the Government’s plans to change the law would not comply with international best practice.

Dr Gibaut was replaced earlier this year by a new ‘Director of Statistics and Analytics’, who would be responsible for overseeing Statistics Jersey, as well as a new ‘Analytics’ unit within Government.

Pictured: The Chief Minister confirmed that two key laws relating to Statistics Jersey's operations were in conflcit.

The job description appeared to clash with global standards, such as those set out by the United Nations Economic Commission. 

They warn against dual roles, stating that “producers of official statistics… have to be free of conflicts of interest” and should “be perceived by all users as acting impartially, so that all users can have trust in the results as unbiased representation of relevant aspects of the society.” 

Following both public and political uproar at the revelation, Deputy Kirsten Morel had been planning to ask the States Assembly to approve a new law to fully free Statistics Jersey from its financial tie to Government and make it a grant-funded body.

However, he has since been invited by the Chief Minister to chair a steering group that will work alongside members of Statistics Jersey and the Statistics Users Group (SUG) - an independent panel responsible for overseeing the integrity of Jersey’s statistics - to improve legislation. 

Pictured: Deputy Kirsten Morel, who will be chairing the new group.

“I am pleased the Chief Minister has asked me to lead this important project and I have asked Senator Tracey Vallois to join me on the steering group, as I know she is very interested in ensuring the independence and integrity of Statistics Jersey and of statistics produced across government and other public authorities.

“We want to ensure the public can have a high level of trust and confidence in these key statistics, which are vital for policy making as they provide the government, organisations and indeed all islanders, with crucial data about our community, upon which we base major decisions about our future. 

“We both look forward to helping ensure that Jersey’s statistical system is underpinned by a strong legal and institutional framework, which guarantees professional independence. Importantly, these changes will need to stand the test of time.”

Gailina Liew, the recently-appointed Chair of SUG, commented: “I am pleased to have been asked to represent the Statistics Users Group on this steering group.  This is an opportunity to improve Jersey’s statistics legislation so that it conforms to international best practice standards.” 

The group will consult both producers and users of official statistics and is expected to bring forward plans to update the law later this year.