Sir Robert Chote appointed as Chair of the UK Statistics Authority

Sir Robert Chote has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the new Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.

Sir Robert Chote has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the new Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.

Sir Robert is a former head of the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Institute for Fiscal Studies and is currently serving part-time as the first chair of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, an independent body created in 2021 to bring greater transparency and independent scrutiny to NI’s public finances. He also chairs the external advisory group of the Parliamentary Budget Office in the Republic of Ireland.

The appointment was the subject of an open recruitment exercise following the Governance Code for Public Appointments, a pre-appointment hearing with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and approval by Parliament.

Sir Robert will take up the post on 1 June 2022, for a non-renewable five year term.

Welcoming the appointment, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office Lord True said:

I am delighted that Sir Robert Chote will take up this important role as Chair of the UK Statistics Authority. Sir Robert has all the attributes, experience and independence of judgement needed to lead the UKSA Board and the regulation of UK statistics.

I would like to thank Sir David Norgrove for his work over the previous five years and Ms Sian Jones for her short period of cover as interim Chair from April to May.