SIR Robert Chote has begun his five-year term as the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, following his appointment in April.
He succeeded Sian Jones, who had been interim chair since Sir David Norgrove’s five-year term ended on March 31, 2022.
He said: “It’s a huge honour to be taking over from Sir David Norgrove as Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.
“Under his careful watch, official statistics have become more important, and better trusted, than ever before.
“I thank him for his years of service and I look forward enormously to working with the board.
“As a journalist, researcher, forecaster and policy watchdog, I have been a consumer of official statistics throughout my career and have always valued the professionalism, integrity and expertise of those working right across the statistical system.
“Working with colleagues, statistics users, the Government and Parliament, I am determined to safeguard the integrity of the system and expand its capability in the years ahead.”
What is the UK Statistics Authority?
The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body operating as a non-ministerial government department, directly accountable to the UK Parliament and devolved assemblies.
The authority’s objective is to promote the production and publication of official statistics in the public interest.
It should also safeguard the quality and comprehensiveness of official statistics and ensure good practice.
The Chair of the UK Statistics Authority is a Crown appointment, made with UK parliamentary approval following a pre-appointment hearing before the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.
The body made news in February after former chair Norgrove wrote a letter to Boris Johnson suggesting his use of their figures was “a selective use of data that is likely to give a misleading impression of trends in the labour market.”
Who is Robert Chote?
Chote went to university at Queens’ College, Cambridge before studying further at City University in London and at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC.
He began his career working for The Independent and then as Economic Editor of the Financial Times.
He was an advisor at the International Monetary Fund from 1999 to 2002 before becoming director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies from 2002.
He held that role until 2010, when he became head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, where he worked until 2020.
From 2021 Chote has been serving part-time as chair of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, an independent body scrutinising Northern Ireland’s public finances.
In the 2021 New Year Honours list he was knighted in for services to fiscal policy and the economy.
