The Office for Statistics Regulation wrote to Scott Heald and Roger Halliday about the use of unpublished statistics in Scottish Government news release

8 July 2020 · Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation

The letter is dated 8 July 2020. A reply dated 14 July 2020 is published alongside it. The Office for Statistics Regulation published it as Ed Humpherson to Scott Heald and Roger Halliday: The use of unpublished statistics in Scottish Government news release; it links to 1 official record. Below are 4 passages from the letter in the regulator's own words.

What the Office for Statistics Regulation wrote

“There is no reference to the data source of the figure quoted in the news release.”

“Antibody testing data are of particular interest to the public and to ensure public confidence and equality of access, we urge you to publish the data quoted in the Scottish Government news release.”

“Nevertheless, our expectation, as set out in our public statement of 18 May, is that any data used publicly by Government should be published in an accessible form, with appropriate explanations of context and sources.”

“We understand that wider plans are underway around the data collection and publication of serology information in Scotland.”

From Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation, letter of 8 July 2020. Read the full letter.

Records the letter links to

• news release (gov.scot)

Correspondence

• Published reply: Scott Heald and Roger Halliday response to Ed Humpherson: The use of unpublished statistics in Scottish Government news release (14 July 2020)

Receipt