HL Deb 19 July 2004 vol 664 c15WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they accept the recommendation by the Statistics Commission in its annual report 2003–04 (Cm 6250) that legislation is needed to strengthen the public trust in official statistics. [HL3757]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The Government welcome the publication of the Statistics Commission report, that was commissioned in the June 2000 Framework for National Statistics, which acknowledges the progress made since the launch of the framework.

The Government look forward to the wide-ranging public debate that the commission's proposals are likely to engender and are discussing the recommendations of the report with the Statistics Commission and National Statistician.