ScotStat Board Minutes: March 2026

Attendees and apologies

Board members

•    John Curtice (JC)
•    Ana Basiri (AB)
•    Susan McVie (SM)
•    Ken Roy (KR)
•    João Sousa (JS)
•    Lucien Staddon Foster (LSF)
•    Roeland Beerten (RB)

Officials/Speaker/Observers

•    Ally McAlpine (AM), Chief Statistician
•    Paul Matthews (PM), Head of Profession, Office of the Chief Statistician
•    Lee Bunce (LB), Office of the Chief Statistician, Secretariat
•    Amy Wilson (AW), Deputy Director Health Workforce Planning and Delivery, Secretariat
•    Rajiv Naik (RN), Office of the Chief Statistician, Secretariat
•    Esta Clark (EC), National Records of Scotland
•    Chris McCrum (CM), National Records of Scotland
•    Alex Lambert (AL), Office for National Statistics
•    Catherine Bromley (CB), Public Health Scotland

Apologies

•    Camilla Barnett (CB)
 

Items and actions

Actions from last meeting

The chairs informed the Board about Alex Lambert, ONS (Office for National Statistics) and Catherine Bromley, PHS (Public Health Scotland) and their imminent presentations, as a follow up action from the last meeting. 

The chairs also confirmed receiving a letter from two MSPs about the Scottish Government Data collection guidance on Sex and Gender. LB will share the letter and the response with the Board.

Update from the Chief Statistician

AM provided an update on pre-release access (PRA). He confirmed that the Independent Review has been published   and laid before the Scottish Parliament. The Chief Statistician has submitted his recommendation to the First Minister. It is expected that a decision on future PRA arrangements will be made after the Scottish Parliament election.

AM informed the Board that Jon-Wroth Smith is leaving NRS shortly and restructuring in NRS will see the appointment of a new Head of Statistics. Alison Byrne and the new appointee will make themselves available to meet the ScotStat Board at a future meeting. The Board acknowledged and thanked Jon for his contribution on delivering Census 2022 and the work to prepare for the next Census.

AM referred to the ongoing review of the National Performance Framework (NPF) and how he set clear aims for the review. He highlighted that there is a risk that after further engagement with Parliament, that they may not fully adopt the recommendations of the review and that may lead to benefits of the review being missed.

AM discussed the ongoing review of the ScotStat Board being conducted by AW and LB.

Update on sex and gender identity guidance

AM updated the Board on work being carried out to review its existing guidance on collecting data on sex and gender in the light of the Supreme Court Judgement. Advice has been provided to Ministers. The Scottish Government has committed to a longer-term review by end of 2026. Board members expressed their opinions on the guidance and would appreciate another update on this item at a future meeting.

Update on Census preparations

EC and CM of National Records for Scotland (NRS) provided an update on preparations for the 2031 Census. A Consultation was launched seeking views on use of 2022 Census outputs and future requirements for population and housing statistics.

They provided an update covering stakeholder engagement, responses received, evaluation criteria, review process, and UK harmonisation and invited Board members to comment on the process. Subject to Ministerial approval, NRS plans a census test in March 2027, ahead of a 2029 rehearsal and 2031 census. The purpose is to test key design elements, inform operational and commercial planning, assess value for money, and build staff capability.

Transformed Labour Force Survey

AL provided an update on the work of the Office for National Statistics’ Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) programme, outlining progress, risks, and implications for Scotland as the UK transitions away from the legacy Labour Force Survey (LFS).

The TLFS addresses the difficulties that have been experienced by the legacy survey by creating a shorter, online first, multimode survey with a significantly larger sample and modern processing systems. Engagement between ONS and SG is strong, including programme boards, user groups, technical groups, and peer review activities. While progress continues, material delivery and data quality risks remain. Scotland is deeply engaged, with specific needs well embedded in programme planning. The next 12–18 months are critical to confirming readiness for transition away from the legacy LFS.

Coherence of population and migration statistics

The chairs presented a paper how migration statistics are vital to Scotland’s policy needs but remain complex and resource-intensive to produce. Addressing quality, legal access, and capability challenges requires a stronger, more formalised collaborative relationship with ONS. A partnership grounded in complementarity—rather than simple coherence—would support higher quality, more granular and more policy-relevant migration statistics for Scotland and the wider UK.

Consulting on Statistics

The chairs discussed how the board is reviewing how devolved statistical producers consult users and producers, and how effective the current approaches are. They confirmed how evidence was received from Justice Analytical Services and the Directorate of the Chief Economist. They stressed the need for a more structured, criteria-based assessment across all future submissions. Board members agreed to the need to review and refine the proposed questions and criteria. Updated guidance to be issued for future papers and presentations.

Update on Social Care Statistics

CB provided an update on the work of Public Health Scotland to modernise Scotland’s social care data, including decisions taken by the Programme Board and current priority workstreams. A fragmented data landscape and limitations with the source dataset remain key issues alongside significant existing gaps at referral and assessment stages in the social care pathway.

CB mentioned how Care home data modernisation is their immediate priority and how Data sharing improvements will strengthen future evidence building across health and social care.

Statistics and the Scottish Parliament election

PM provided an update on Scottish Parliament election guidance, reiterating OSR’s expectations of statisticians – to remain free from political interference, meet user needs and support their respective organisations.

He urged caution on how we comment on statistics during this period and how UKSA is planning to write to the parties to ensure fair play. SG Guidance has been issued to analysts about the pre-election period and sessions held with statisticians. Development sessions with senior leaders are planned to prepare for contingencies.

Actions

• AM to provide an update on Sex and Gender data collection guidance post-election.
• National Records of Scotland to provide a future update to the Board on the output of its topic consultation.
• LB to arrange conversations with board members about the board review.