Role of the National Statistician

Karen Dunnell, the National Statistician, is responsible for a number of functions in her capacity as:

the Government and UK Statistics Authority's Principal Statistical Adviser
the Chief Executive and the Principal Accounting Officer of the Authority's executive office - the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
the professional head of the Government Statistical Service (GSS)

Terms of appointment

The National Statistician is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen acting on the advice of the Prime Minister who is advised, in turn, by the Minister for Statistics in the Cabinet Office. She holds office as a civil servant under such terms and conditions as are determined by the Head of the Home Civil Service.

Functions

The National Statistician has the following main functions:

to improve the quality and relevance of National Statistics, for example by producing a high-level work programme for the UK statistical system, by administering procedures to obtain the views of users and data providers, and by establishing an appropriate committee structure
to improve public confidence in the integrity of National Statistics, for example by promoting and implementing the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Statistics
to operate efficiently, for example by minimising the burdens placed on those who supply data for National Statistics
to promote European Union and international co-operation and fulfil UK statistical obligations to the European Union, for example by encouraging GSS participation in international committees and activities
to co-ordinate the activities of the GSS, for example by maintaining central personnel and staff development functions by means of the Statisticians in Government Team (SiGT) based at ONS, and by promoting the use of standard definitions and classifications and methodologies across the GSS
to promote comparable statistics across the UK, for example by working closely with statistical producers in other government departments and with the Chief Statisticians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
to report on the performance of these functions to the Statistics Authority and to Parliament, for example by publishing regular reports and appearing before Parliamentary Committees

As National Statistician and Head of the GSS, it is Karen's duty to work closely with each of the designated Heads of Profession for Statistics in each administration, department, and agency affiliated to the GSS.