[ad_1]
The official statistics watchdog has issued a rare rebuke to the government and its scientific advisers, warning that their use of coronavirus data could “confuse the public and undermine confidence in the statistics.”
The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said there is a danger that confidence in official figures will be undermined if they are not “supported by transparent information provided in a timely manner”.
When asked about the government’s use of data today, Boris johnson He said: “We try to make things as clear as possible”, although he acknowledged that “projections vary a lot” and that a “political judgment” must also be made to take into account economic factors.
Johnson said some of the facts were “irrefutable”, such as the number of deaths and people hospitalized.
“I cannot argue with that data, we have to act on that data and collectively, that is what we are going to do,” he said.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
UKSA’s warning comes after the controversy over the data presented at the Downing Street press conference on Saturday, when the prime minister announced that England would enter a lockdown.
The key features of many of the models presented at the press conference were not published on the government website, so no one could see how they were created.
In a statement, the UKSA said it was essential for the UK government to use the statistics “in a way that promotes transparency and clarity” by making clear the source of the information and the full figures that support it.
In a blog posted alongside the UKSA statement, Mary Gregory, deputy director for regulation at the Office for Statistical Regulation, the part of UKSA that regulates statistics in the UK, referred directly to Saturday’s press conference.
He said it did not meet his standard for sharing data.
Ms Gregory criticized the prime minister’s reference to “worst case reasonable”, a model used for operational planning, when “the data and assumptions from this model had not been shared transparently”.
He also criticized some of the UK delegate governments for their data presentation.
Prime Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford had posted slides on Twitter instead of the government website, he said, adding that the hospital’s capacity was not routinely posted on Scotland.
:: Subscribe to Sophy Ridge Sunday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
In its statement, UKSA identified a number of steps governments should take to support confidence in data.
The regulator said: “It is clear that those working on the pandemic face significant pressure.
“But full transparency is vital to the public’s understanding and confidence in the statistics and those who use them.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Our focus throughout this unprecedented global pandemic has been to increase transparency around the government’s response to the coronavirus.”
They added: “We continue to work hard to improve the data we publish where necessary, and our statistical efforts and reports have been recognized by the UK Statistics Authority, which said ‘there is a continuous process of improvement.”
