The statistics agency has named its first dedicated perm sec, while the authority with responsibility for the wider landscape is seeking a new chair to offer ‘robust challenge and oversight’
Government’s statistics agencies are set for significant managerial changes with new leaders incoming at the Office for National Statistics and its parent organisation.
The ONS has named Darren Tierney as the new permanent secretary. He arrives from the Cabinet Office, where he is currently the director general of the department’s Propriety and Constitution Group. Tierney, who has been appointed to a two-year fixed term at the ONS will take up his new role next week.
The appointment comes after the Cabinet Office launched a civil service-wide internal recruitment campaign for the role, opening it up to permanent secretaries and directors general only.
The dedicated role of permanent secretary was created after a recent review by former Department for Work and Pensions chief Sir Robert Devereux, who recommended the roles of national statistician and perm sec at the ONS be split up. The Cabinet Office said an external competition will be launched shortly to appoint a new national statistician, following the departure earlier this year of Sir Ian Diamond.
Emma Rourke, who has covered the combined leadership role since Diamond’s departure, will continue to fulfil the duties of national statistician while recruitment is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the ONS’s parent body – the UK Statistics Authority, which also oversees the Office for Statistics Regulation watchdog and the statistical community across government – is inviting applications for a new chair.
The chair leads the UK Statistics Authority’s board, which oversees the work of the Office for National Statistics, the Office for Statistics Regulation and the wider statistical system. Sir Robert Chote, who has been chair since June 2022, announced his resignation last month in preparation for becoming president of Trinity College, Oxford.
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Penny Young, deputy chair of UKSA’s board, will take over in the interim period before the appointment of the next chair. A salary of £71,250 to £85,500 is on offer for the next chair, with a time commitment of three days per week.
The advert for the public appointment says the Cabinet Office is seeking a chair with “experience leading a high-profile organisation in a complex and dynamic environment, setting a clear sense of purpose and direction for both internal and external stakeholders”.
They should also have the ability to provide “robust challenge and oversight to the executive, ensuring the highest standards of conduct and delivery, and demonstrating the drive, energy, and resilience needed to achieve concrete benefits for customers, staff, and the broader public sector”.
Chote said: “It has been a privilege to chair the authority over the last three years. As our five-year strategy, Statistics for the Public Good, draws to its conclusion, the authority is looking for new leaders to reflect on the recent challenges and chart a new path to restore confidence in key economic official statistics.”
He added: “I am delighted and grateful that Penny will be picking up the baton while we await the appointment of my successor. She will bring strong values, an open spirit and breadth of expertise, and I wish her and the authority every success in future.”
