Statistics Fast Stream Insider’s Guide - GSS · 2018-05-03 · Statistics Fast Stream Insider’s...

Statistics Fast Stream

Insider’s Guide

Statistics Fast Stream Insider’s Guide – of 40

Contents

Posts .....................................................................................................................Types of Posts ...........................................................................................................Moving Posts .............................................................................................................Loans and Secondments ..........................................................................................Out of London Postings .............................................................................................

Fast Stream Forum - Your Reps .............................................................................Assistant Statistician Committee ............................................................................

Learning and Development ...............................................................................Induction ....................................................................................................................

Competency Framework .....................................................................................Socials and Networking .....................................................................................

Things I wish I’d known .........................................................................................Testimonials ..........................................................................................................

Departments .......................................................................................................... Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ...........................................................Department for Communities and Local Government ..................................................Department for Culture, Media & Sport .........................................................................Department for Education ............................................................................................Department for Energy and Climate Change ...............................................................Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ...................................................Department of Health ...................................................................................................NHS England ...............................................................................................................Department for International Development ..................................................................Department for Transport .............................................................................................Department for Work & Pensions .................................................................................HM Revenue and Customs ..........................................................................................HM Treasury .................................................................................................................Home Office ..................................................................................................................Ministry of Defence .......................................................................................................Ministry of Justice .........................................................................................................Office for National Statistics .........................................................................................UK Statistics Authority ..................................................................................................Scottish Government ....................................................................................................Valuation Office Agency ................................................................................................Welsh Government .......................................................................................................

Acronyms Glossary ............................................................................................... 40

Welcome .................................................................................................................Overview .................................................................................................................

The Civil Service Fast Stream ....................................................................................Who are Assistant Statisticians and what do we do? ...............................................Statistics Fast Stream Overview .................................................................................

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Welcome

Hello Assistant Statisticians and welcome to your Insiders' Guide!

This guide has been written by Assistant Statisticians from across the Civil Service, with the hope of unifying and demystifying the scheme. This will become especially important as the scheme moves over to Civil Service Resourcing, creating some substantial differences between new and 'vintage' Assistant Statisticians. This guide covers the current Statistics Fast Stream and version 2, covering the new scheme, will come out later in the year.

Within the guide you can find out about different departments, socials, learning and development, types of posts, how to move posts, and more.

We hope it will come in handy for both newbies and seasoned ASs!

Overview

Centrally managed by Civil Service Resourcing

Managed by Department/profession

The Civil Service Fast Stream is made up of lots of different streams and professions. This is where we fit in:


Total

133 in-post assistant statisticians

(excludes those on long-term leave or with unknown status)

Sex

58% 42%(excludes those

with unknown sex)

Joiners, movers and leaversIn the seven months to the beginning of March 2016…

103 stayed in the same department

joined the statistics Fast

Stream,5

3

3

10

moved department,

were promoted to grade 7 (or equivalent),

went on long-term leave (maternity/ paternity,

career break, etc),

other/ unknown.returned from long-

term leave,

13

7

1 remained on long-term leave,

Who are Assistant Statisticians and what do we do?


Location

At the beginning of March 2016,

60% of Assistant Statisticians (with

known location) were based in London,

London

Newcastle

80

NewportCardiff

TitchfieldBristol

York

84

3

3

5

7Leeds 2

Glasgow

Sheffield7

Darlington2

EastKilbride

1

9% in Wales,

5%were

based in Scotland,

…and 5% in the rest of Southern England.

17% in Northern England,

(6 had unknown

location or were on

secondment)

41

Edinburgh


0 5 10 15 20 25 30

CODMOMMO

No 10Scotland

VOABIS

DCLGDECC

HMTOFSTED

DCMSDfT

NHSWG

DEFRAHODH

MODDFIDMOJDfE

ONSHMRC

DWP

Number of Assistant Statisticians

Departments

At the beginning of March 2016, around one in five

(19%) Assistant Statisticians worked at

the Department for Work and Pensions.

Six Assistant Statisticians were the only Fast Stream

statisticians in their department/agency.

All figures are taken from the Assistant Statistician mailing list, 3 March 2016 and are subject to error. Figures will not exactly match those given previously because of several error corrections.

The seven month period quoted was from 6 August 2015 to 3 March 2016.

Total - Assistant Statisticians on long-term leave or who left the statistics Fast Stream are not included in the “in-post” total.

Departments - “Department” in this context refers also to agencies, bodies and other government organisations where Assistant Statisticians have been based.

Joiners, Movers and Leavers - “Other” changes include Assistant Statisticians who left the Fast Stream for other reasons than those covered or left the Civil Service altogether.

Location - Percentages may not sum due to rounding. Croydon is counted with London.


Statistics Fast Stream Overview

The Statistics Fast Stream is a 4-6 year programme in which Assistant Statisticians are provided with the training, development opportunities and support to enable them to make quick progress towards leadership roles in the Government Statistical Service (GSS). Assistant Statisticians are expected to perform at a consistently high level, take an active role in their own career development and be willing to take on stretching assignments and opportunities. At the end of the six years, Assistant Statisticians should be ready for promotion to Grade 7. Many however will achieve this promotion within four years. If promotion has not been achieved after six years, Assistant Statisticians will usually move on to main stream jobs at a suitable grade.

During their time on the Fast Stream, Assistant Statisticians will usually work in 2 - 4 different posts, to build up the necessary skills and experience. Posts typically last between 6 and 18 months. Assistant Statisticians may do multiple posts within the same department or may move to different departments. Moving between posts should be supported by their department. Assistant Statisticians may apply to specific Fast Stream posts or to posts outside the Fast Stream that match their development needs.

The Fast Stream offer comprises the following training and development opportunities:

a) Induction training, to cover civil service, personal impact, the structure and governance of the GSS, the Code of Practice, and career management.

b) Statistical Foundations training, to cover data collection, analysis and dissemination.

c) 10 additional training days per year, to cover Fast Stream specific and statistical training.

d) A structured early career, with movement through different posts and departments to build up the skills and experience necessary to demonstrate competence against both the Civil Service and statistical frameworks.

e) An opportunity outside the GSS, for example through work shadowing or a secondment to a policy role, private office, or external organisation, to develop a broader range of skills and an appreciation of how statistics are used.

f) European / international experience, for example through attending a Eurostat working group.

g) Mentoring.

In addition it is expected that all those on the Fast Stream will participate in a central corporate capacity at some point during the programme - for example by contributing to / sitting on a GSS committee or similar role; and that they will gain exposure to senior management and/or ministers. Departments also usually have arrangements to support a quota of staff through the Masters in Official Statistics, or some modules from it - funded and with study days to prepare for exams and complete coursework.


Fast Stream Forum - Your RepsHello from your Statistics Fast Stream Forum reps! The Forum is a committee set up by Fast Streamers for Fast Streamers, consisting of departmental reps and specialist reps. Our aim is to share knowledge about how the Fast Stream works in different departments and streams, improve the Fast Stream experience and provide extra opportunities.

We sit at the Forum with our statistics hats on and relate back to you anything that arises that is of interest to statisticians. We send out the fortnightly newsletters and ad-hoc emails with extras, and are here to answer any questions Assistant Statisticians may have.

We run a buddy scheme for new Assistant Statisticians. The idea is that a new Fast Streamer is paired with a current Fast Streamer in another department. This allows you to ask for advice from someone you don’t work with on an everyday basis but who has been in the Fast Stream a while. Also, you can find out about life in another department and broaden your contacts. If you would like a buddy, or offer to buddy somebody, please get in touch with Katie ([email protected]) and she will pair you up.

We also chair the Assistant Statistician committee, which is a group of 16 of us working on maintaining and improving various aspects of the stream. There’s more information about the committee on the next page.

If you ever have any questions, thoughts or suggestions about the Fast Stream please get in touch. Our doors (aka inboxes) are always open!

Vicky Hughes, [email protected] Katie Fisher, [email protected]

mailto:vicky.hughes%40justice.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:katie.fisher%40homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Assistant Statistician CommitteeThe Assistant Statistician committee was set up in 2015 to unify ASs, giving them an effective method of having their views represented, and developing the professional network of Assistant Statisticians. The group meets approximately once every six weeks, and is chaired by the Fast Stream Forum statistics representatives.

As of May 2016, there are 16 members from various departments, including 3 from outside London. The membership of the group is reviewed periodically, and each person can be a member for up to one year.

Also as of May 2016, there are 5 subgroups:

► Learning and development: working to organise and unify learning and development opportunities available to AS’s.

► GSS competency framework: liaising with the GSS on the development of the new competency framework, inputting AS views, and keeping the community informed.

► Insiders’ Guide: developing this Guide with the aim of making the scheme more transparent and inform AS’s when moving posts.

► Socials and Networking: organising social and networking opportunities.

► Managed Moves (subgroup formed in April): looking into whether an interdepartmental managed moves system could be established.

The committee are here to represent you, so let your Fast Stream Forum reps know if there’s anything you’d like to raise with them!

Assistant Statisticians after completing the ClueQuest escape game


Assistant Statistician Committee

Katie Davidson, DH (London)

Lucy Webb, NHS (London)

Douglas Cameron, UK Statistics Authority

(London)

Alex Feuchtwanger, DH (London)

Greg Ceely, DWP (London)

Sophie Chapman, ONS (Titchfield)

Alison Reynolds, DfT (London)

Laura Lewis, Treasury (London)

Delphine Robineau, DfE (London)

Samantha Newsham, HMRC (London)

Ewan Keith, MOD (Bristol)

Katy Scott, HMRC (London)

Katie Fisher, Home Office (Croydon)

Greg Ceely, DWP (London)

Vicky Hughes, MOJ (London)

Vicky Hughes, MOJ (London)

Learning and Development

GSS Competency Framework Socials and Networking

Insiders’ Guide

Managed Moves

Stephanie Sarwar, DWP (Newcastle)- On maternity leave

Dan Hawksworth, MOJ (London)


Learning and DevelopmentAs a government statistician, you, and your department, will be responsible for ensuring that you have the opportunities to continue developing your professional and technical skills. Some courses are considered core to the Fast Stream development pathway and all Fast Streamers are encouraged to attend these regardless of profession, but most opportunities will be up to you to identify and take advantage of.

General Skills

Much of the day to day work of government statisticians is similar to civil servants working in other areas such as policy, commercial or project management. For this reason much of the development offer made to Assistant Statisticians is concerned with developing these general skills, with training courses covering topics such as understanding government, government finance and briefing ministers or senior officials. The primary source of this training is Civil Service Learning (CSL) who run the core courses that are recommended for all Fast Streamers. Your manager or Head of Profession will be able to tell you how many courses you’ll be able to attend, and provide guidance on which will be best for you at each stage of your career.

There are also ample opportunities to develop your general professional competencies beyond the basic core training offers. Within your department training is likely to be available in areas such as communication, leadership and other general skills. Opportunities also exist across the Fast Stream and government, with a range of learning and development events available to those interested. Your manager, department website, Fast Stream newsletters, or more experienced colleagues are all good resources for identifying such opportunities.

Statistical Skills

As a government statistician you will be expected to keep your technical skills and understanding of statistical issues up to date, engaging with opportunities for continuous professional development (CPD) throughout your career. Your ‘statistical skills’ are broadly considered to be any skills directly relevant to handling and analysing data, so could relate to statistical tests, visualisation techniques, computer programming or any other relevant skills.

Your department will help you to keep these skills up to date by funding training with external organisations (such as ONS or the Royal Statistical Society) or by organising training courses/events internally which you will be able to attend. All government statisticians are required to keep an annual log of their CPD and are expected to show an average of 50 hours of novel statistical learning and development each year. This can take any form, from formal courses to self guided study or personal projects. This includes new skills you develop in your day to day job also, so if you’ve been using a new skill or piece of software, mark it down!


InductionIn order to get your development as a government statistician off to a strong start, the Fast Stream and the Government Statistical Service (GSS) both arrange a number of induction events which you will attend over the course of your first year as an AS.

The first of these is the four day Fast Stream induction where you’ll have the opportunity to meet Fast Stream members from all other schemes. In 2015, the course was held at the Radisson Blu in Heathrow. Here is an overview of the induction from an Assistant Statistician who attended in 2015:

As well as statisticians (who got to attend the event for the first time in 2015), streams attending included generalists, HR, finance, digital & technology, science & engineering, commercial, and communications, and Fast Streamers from a number of these streams make up your learning group for the week.

There was some pre-event work available online covering the history and structure of the Civil Service, what makes a civil servant, who they serve, Parliament and accountability, and next steps.

There’s an app available for the week, where you can connect with your learning group, see your schedule (everyone’s is different so this was very important), find out about the speakers and join in with interactive sessions.

The week includes traditional learning like talks from senior Civil Service leaders and business experts, but also interactive events taking you through processes, such as how policy is created or mock Parliament debates. There are also stream-specific sessions, such as a session on the statistics Code of Practice run by staff from the GSS. There are lots of opportunities for networking with the other streams, with current Assistant Statisticians and with senior statisticians.

The GSS follows up on this with a two day induction course which you will attend with other new statisticians, intended to get you quickly up to speed on the unique professional details of working in government as a statistician. About 6 months to a year after you attend this GSS induction you’ll then be invited on to a three day statistical foundations course, which provides a much broader overview of professional and technical issues. These all offer great opportunities for building up the knowledge you need going forward, and are also very good for meeting Assistant Statisticians and Statistical Officers from other departments from your own.


Competency FrameworkThe competency framework (https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/learning-and-development/statistician-competency-framework-2/) is a document that outlines the skills, knowledge and behaviours that are expected of members of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) at each stage of their career.

The framework has been redesigned to better align with the UK Statistics Authority Strategy, “Better Statistics Better Decisions strategy for 2015 to 2020”, which in turn aims to ensure that the profession is able to meet some of the big challenges and opportunities over the next five years. These challenges and opportunities include the availability of more data, in richer and more complex forms than ever before, and increased demand and expectations from government, the public, and internationally.

The framework has got five pillars, each matching one of the pillars of the UK Statistics Authority Strategy. These are: Helpful – Innovative – Capable – Efficient – Professional.

It also has levels corresponding to different grades. These are:

► Level 1 – Statistical Officers (StO), Statistical Data Scientists (SDS), or equivalent

► Level 2 – Assistant Statistician, HStO/Higher SDS, SStO/Senior SDS

► Level 3 – Grade 7/Grade 6 Statistician/Statistical Data Scientist

The plan is to develop a Level 4 for SCS; this will follow at a later date.

Each level is split by some of the key areas of work for government statisticians:

► Acquiring data/Understanding customer needs

► Data analysis

► Presenting and disseminating data effectively

► Working with credibility

You can use the framework as a guide for your professional development throughout your GSS career. Some examples of when you might use it include:

► When you first start in a post to identify your strengths and development areas, helping you to write a Personal Development Plan and get support from your manager to get the training you need

► When preparing for mid-year and end-year reviews, to help you chart your progress during a post, and give evidence of your development

► When looking for new posts, to identify gaps in your development, and find a post that will fill them

► When applying for posts or promotion, to show that you have the necessary skills and competencies

https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/learning-and-development/statistician-competency-framework-2/)

https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/learning-and-development/statistician-competency-framework-2/)


Socials and NetworkingThe AS Socials and Networking sub-committee puts on a wide variety of events for statistics Fast Streamers. We usually run a couple of events each month, with a mix of fun socials and activities, and more ‘serious’ (at least in theory) networking opportunities. Details of upcoming socials are sent out regularly in the AS newsletter.

Recent events have included picnics, pub nights, pool matches, pub quizzes, a late night trip to the Science Museum, a ClueQuest escape room game and our Christmas social including quizzes, crackers, cocktails, mathematical origami and festive jumpers (some of which are on display in the photo below).

One of our latest additions to the AS social calendar is the Faststream Analysts Dinner (FAD). We’re so chuffed with our stats community that we’re now extending our networking events to include dinners with Fast Streamers on other analytical streams.

We’re always keen to do more, and especially to do what we can to expand our offerings to Out of Londoners. If you would like to be involved or organise your own events, or have any suggestions for things you’d like us to set up, please email your friendly neighbourhood social rep Laura Lewis ([email protected]).

mailto:laura.lewis%40hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Types of Posts

There is a wide range of posts available to Assistant Statisticians, that will develop both statistical and core competencies. The GSS have defined the following types of AS posts. It is not intended to be definitive, and the different roles are not wholly distinct. Often a post will cover more than one of these roles – but there is usually one aspect that is more prominent.

- Statistical production/publicationThe bread and butter of the GSS statistical world, these roles are involved in the regular production (collection, analysis) and publication of statistics. Usually there will be key monthly, quarterly or annual publication deadlines to be met.

- Policy-facingRoles working closely with policy customers, producing analysis to support policy decisions. Analysis may draw on a wide range of published or unpublished data, or new data collections – but the principal aim is to support policy colleagues rather than publish outputs.

- Operational analysisSimilar to policy-facing roles, these roles support effective operations within a department by analysing operational data. Often these roles involve working with management information and administrative data.

- MethodologyRoles carrying out research and providing statistical advice / knowledge to support those developing or reviewing statistical outputs. Typically these roles require strong statistical skills and the ability to advise other statisticians on statistical techniques. The majority of these roles are in the Office for National Statistics.

- Data scienceRoles typically based in multi-disciplinary teams finding new ways to extract value from data, often drawing on big data and using specialist software.

- Wider professionThis category includes all those roles in the GSS that aren’t about producing statistics / analysis, of which there are quite a range. The focus of these roles is still on the statistical world, but they develop non statistical skills. This category includes supporting Heads of Profession, Monitoring and Assessment related posts, working in the National Statistician’s Private Office and other corporate roles.

Many Assistant Statisticians try to cover a few of these areas over their time on the Fast Stream, but there is no requirement to tick them all off.

Additionally, many generalist or wider analytical posts are available to Assistant Statisticians so further opportunities can be found from these.


Loans and SecondmentsLoans and secondments are work placements in another organisation and are a good way to gain skills and experience that you might not be able to gain in your home department. They can last a few weeks, months, a year or more, and might be to another government department, a charity, or the private sector. The main difference between a loan and a secondment is who pays you. Loans are to another department within the Civil Service and you will transfer over to the host department’s payroll and terms and conditions. When on secondment, you remain on your home department’s payroll and the host organisation may or may not reimburse your department, depending on the agreement.

The GSS website has information on some secondment opportunities currently available: https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/careers/secondments/secondment-opportunities/. You can also identify other secondment opportunities and organise the secondment yourself. Different secondments will be organised in different ways but a good starting point is:

► Identify the skills and experience you would like to gain

► Speak to your line manager and/or head of profession

► Identify and approach an organisation that you would like to work with

The next two pages contain case studies of people who have been on secondment.

Moving PostsThere is now a simple process for arranging managed moves across departments for Assistant Statisticians:

1) Head of Profession/line manager fills in the vacancy template and send it to the Fast Stream reps, Vicky Hughes and Katie Fisher.

2) Completed vacancy adverts are sent out by the Fast Stream reps to all Assistant Statisticians via the newsletter (which is sent out about every 2 weeks).

3) Assistant Statisticians who are interested submit an expression of interest. There is an optional template for this, or the advertising Head of Profession/line manager may request that the expression of interest is written in a particular way.

4) Assistant Statisticians who have expressed an interest in the post are usually invited for an informal chat, but this can vary by department.

These moves do not require full open competition because Fast Streamers are part of a formal talent development programme and managed moves are part of this programme. The aim should be to arrange a move that suits the department’s needs and also reflects the Fast Streamer’s development needs.

Assistant Statisticians may also apply to posts that are open to wider competition. These are normally advertised on Civil Service Jobs, but the details may also be circulated via the AS newsletter.


Amelia Ash, Office for National Statistics - secondment to Full Fact

In the summer of 2015, I went on a three month secondment to Full Fact; a London-based factchecking charity that seeks to improve accuracy in public debate, holding to account politicians and the media (amongst others) for the facts they use. You might well have met them at your GSS induction.

During my secondment, I took part in the core activity of the organisation – factchecking! This involved seeking evidence for claims made by key politicians and even involved calling up the No. 10 office on a few occasions. A visit to the International Factcheckers’ Conference in London also followed; an opportunity to network with factcheckers from around the globe.

Other than the day-to-day activities, I kicked off one of the charity’s long-term projects, which looked at how contextual information surrounding statistical datasets is presented in publications. You can read more about it in my blog:

https://fullfact.org/open_data_caveats_royal_baby_names-46718

As statisticians we often despair when we see dodgy data or misquoted figures. The secondment gave me valuable insight into how statistics can be misused intentionally, but also unintentionally, which was useful to see as a statistical producer. It also gave me experience of a completely different working culture such as working at pace to produce published articles and getting exposure to the political side of official statistics; something rarely experienced at ONS (which is independent of Government).

Full Fact secondment opportunities are usually advertised in the GSS newsletter, so keep an eye out if you’re interested... and, of course, feel free to contact me if you’d like any more information.

Bear in mind that Full Fact is a charity so your current department needs to agree to cover your salary while you’re away.

Jenny Allan has also completed a secondment to Full Fact. If you would like to know more about their experiences at Full Fact, Amelia and Jenny are happy to be contacted:

Amelia Ash: [email protected]

Jenny Allan: [email protected]

In addition to these three month secondments, Full Fact sometimes offer other opportunities. For example, in the run up to the May 2015 general election, a number of Assistant Statisticians spent a week at Full Fact working in their election hub, fact checking statistics used in the election campaigns.

https://fullfact.org/open_data_caveats_royal_baby_names-46718

mailto:Amelia.ash%40ons.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:jenny.allan%40homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Delphine Robineau, Department for Education - secondment to The Guardian

After my first AS post at the Department for Transport, I went on secondment for three months to the data journalism team of the Guardian. It was a fantastic experience of using statistics in the press.

During my time there, I had the chance to publish several data articles (http://www.theguardian.com/profile/delphine-robineau), both collaboratively and on my own. Without a doubt, my most successful article was a story on the changes in the way we eat in the last 40 years! I had the chance to write about a wide range of interesting stats, from education to health, from justice to transport.

I was also involved in a very large project on the National Health Service, contributing to articles with data analysis, and fact-checking figures. More generally, I provided support across the newsroom with data collection, analysis and statistical advice.

It was fascinating to see what it is like to be a user of official statistics instead of producing them. This really made me understand how important our role is in communicating statistics to the public. I also definitely learnt a lot about working to tight deadlines and on a wide range of topics – I would never really know in advance what my day would be like! All these skills are very valuable to bring back into the civil service.

I feel very lucky to have been able to take this opportunity. To organise the secondment, I got in touch with the data editor, who gave a talk at the Royal Statistical Society conference, where I was a speaker myself. He was positive about it, as part of a will to increase statistical capability in the newsroom. Then, my managers at DfT, who were really dedicated to my development, made a fantastic job to support me for getting funding and arranging the practicalities. A definite advantage of being on the Fast Stream!

I would definitely recommend going on secondment to widen your experience if you have the chance. My advice is to look for opportunities yourself, and then, don’t be afraid to ask!

If you would like to know more, Delphine can be contacted on: [email protected]

mailto:Delphine.ROBINEAU%40education.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:Delphine.ROBINEAU%40education.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Out of London Postings

Sometimes it seems like a big deal is made about whether your post is in or out of London. Some people are horrified by the thought of doing a post outside of London whereas others by the thought of having to move to London. With 40% of Assistant Statisticians currently in posts based outside of London there are plenty of opportunities to experience life in the Fast Stream in a variety of locations. Here are some thoughts on working in and out of London from Alison Reynolds, an Assistant Statistician currently working at the Department for Transport (DfT):

I am currently on my third post on the Statistics Fast Stream and have done posts both in and out of London. My first post was at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in Titchfield. After that I decided to give the London thing a try and moved to a post at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). My current post is also in London, across the road from DCLG at DfT.

I have enjoyed all my posts and have gained something different from each of them. The main differences that I have experienced between my posts in and out of London are due to the posts and departments that I’ve been in, rather than the fact that I was in or out of London. For example, as ONS is a non-ministerial department with no policy staff, working there was very different to my role at DCLG where I was conducting analysis for policy colleagues. But this difference was due to the nature of ONS rather than the fact that I was based in Titchfield. Many posts will provide the same opportunities whether you’re in or out of London.

There are however some differences between working in a London-based office compared to one out of London. In London there are typically more socials and events and it is much easier to attend talks being held in other departments and meet up with other Assistant Statisticians. There is a greater awareness of the political environment and the bigger picture in London and you can often feel closer to the action. One big benefit of being based in London is that there are more job opportunities so it’s much easier to move to posts in different departments.

In departments out of London, there is often a better sense of community because people move around departments less. Fast streamers within a department often do more together, for example at ONS we had regular Fast Stream catch-ups and workshops and I felt more a part of a Fast Stream group than I have in my London departments. Work-life balance can be better outside of London; I know that I had more free time when my commute was 10 minutes instead of the 50 minutes that it is now! The cheaper rent outside of London was also much better for my bank balance and the fresher air much nicer for having lunch outside.

In all my posts I have met great people, done interesting and challenging roles, and been able to go to training, socials and events. I would happily do another post in London or move out of London again.

The following departments currently have or have had Assistant Statisticians working outside of London:Department for Education - Sheffield and DarlingtonDepartment for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - YorkDepartment of Health and NHS England - LeedsDepartment for International Development - East Kilbride and GlasgowDepartment for Work & Pensions - Leeds, Sheffield and NewcastleMinistry of Defence - BristolOffice for National Statistics - Newport and TitchfieldOfsted - BristolScottish Government - EdinburghWelsh Government - Cardiff


And if you’re based in London:

► Don’t get into the mindset that London is the only place that you would consider working - you might miss out on a great opportunity.

► Remember that not everyone is based in London!

Regional reps

There are two Out of London leads on the Fast Stream Forum and each region has a Fast Stream regional rep:

Out of London Network Leads: Emily Heath and Rebecca Whyte - [email protected]: Rebecca Whyte - [email protected] East: Pam Calvert - [email protected] West: Portia Bailey - [email protected] Yorkshire and Humber: Aisling Spain - [email protected]: Ruth Davies - [email protected] Midlands: Christopher Nash - [email protected] Midlands: Rianna Biggs - [email protected] of England: Vacant - [email protected] East: James Harris - [email protected] West: Anna Bartlett-Avery - [email protected]

So if you’re out of London:

► Each region has a regional rep who organises socials, maintains a list of Fast Streamers in their region and can provide advice and answer questions. Get in touch with your regional rep (list below) to be added to their mailing list and stay in the loop about all things Fast Stream that are going on in your region.

► Don’t worry too much that you’re missing out on things by not being in London. Yes there are events and socials that take place in London but at the same time there will be things going on where you are that people in London can’t attend.

► If you’re keen to come to an AS social, perhaps let the committee know if you’re attending an event in London and we might be able to organise the next social for that day.

► If there’s an event going on in London that you want to attend, ask your line manager and they may well be happy for you to go.

► Cross-government working groups are a good way to stay connected to others on the Fast Stream and in the GSS. Location isn’t a barrier to getting involved.

mailto:fsoutoflondon%40gmail.com?subject=

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When you’ve settled…

► Seek out opportunities to get involved with corporate projects in your department outside your day job as well as any cross cutting projects across departments

► Find out about Royal Statistical Society (RSS) membership – some departments will pay for this and it will get you discounted entrance to events and courses run by RSS as well as free copies of one of their statistical journals and Significance magazine. The RSS also offers the opportunity of gaining accreditation as a Chartered Statistician

► If your line manager is not a Statistician it’s useful to have access to a statistical mentor, especially when reviewing and evaluating your statistical development

► Look out for the GSS conference

► It can be a good idea to make a development plan – think about what you want from a post and where you want to be at stages in your Fast Stream development pathway

► Start thinking about future moves well in advance and think carefully about what you need from your next post

► Stay on the look out for jobs and secondments on the GSS website and well as in the fortnightly AS newsletter. Sign up to Civil Service Jobs

► Competency log – if you haven’t got enough to fill a whole example brainstorm relevant experiences, keep them in a bank and combine examples

► Keep a log of your CPD to document both your general and statistical training - you may get asked to provide it when going for a new role or promotion

► When thinking about courses to go on be selective and consider the timing of your training

► Keep in touch with Assistant Statisticians and other Fast Streamers you meet along the way when they or you move posts - establishing contacts in a range of departments is really useful

Things I wish I’d knownWhen you first join…

► Find out if there are other Assistant Statisticians or Fast Streamers in your department

► Find out who your Head of Profession is

► Make sure you are on the Assistant Statistician mailing list by contacting the Fast Stream reps

► Register on the GSS website


TestimonialsJohn Pullinger, National Statistician

Careers often make a lot more sense if you look at them from the perspective of where you are now and work backwards. Then you can describe every step as being an essential milestone on the way to where you are now. Starting at the beginning is a harder task - the world is your oyster and anything can happen.

With that caveat, it did not do me any harm starting my career as an Assistant Statistician, first in London and then in Newport.

I was given every opportunity in my first few posts, at what was then the Department of Trade and Industry, to explore how to understand trends in the UK manufacturing sector, to calculate the impact of prices on industry and assess shopping patterns across the retail sector. All the jobs combined developing my statistical skills with connecting our findings with decision makers in government, business and the wider community.

Whilst I had had some management experience as an Assistant it was when I became a Grade 7 and moved to the Department of the Environment that I first had the chance to lead a sizeable team, to inspire and motivate others to create excellent statistics that could inform debate. Working on local government finance during a turbulent period we were never out of the spotlight and it was easy to see the thread running from our results to Ministerial decisions and into press reports. This period also gave me an opportunity to work closely with Ministers and see the political world at close quarters. That experience heralded a move for me into policy work, supporting Ministers on inner city regeneration. I found that as a statistician I had an advantage over many colleagues, having the ability to understand and interpret evidence, financial data and performance information.

Some years later I moved into a research role as Head of Research at the Office of Manpower Economics where I learned the art of creating an evidence base that would command the confidence of employers and trade unions in setting pay rates in the armed forces, teaching community and civil service. Chairing meetings was another skill developed at this time.

Next for me was the step up into the Senior Civil Service leading a function. In my case the GSS central policy function that had the job of project managing the creation of ONS, writing the first UK official statistics Code of Practice and leading GSS international work. This showed me the distinction between management and leadership and the value of negotiation skills. My second SCS job was on social statistics where I found myself regularly in the media spotlight doing TV and radio interviews as editor of Social Trends and various other high profile publications.

The pattern throughout is always to be learning - from my own triumphs and disasters and by being inspired by others.

Later jobs at even more senior levels saw me spending most of my time in the Cabinet Office as part of a cross government push to tackle social exclusion, with a workforce of up to 70,000 managing the population census, leading a research team in the House of Commons with the task of answering tens of thousands of question from MPs of all parties on any subject with almost instant turn round times, being responsible for the House of Commons media office throughout the MPs expenses crisis, and now, as National Statistician, telling you that there is no better way to start your career than as an Assistant Statistician.


David Dawson, Grade 7, Ministry of Justice

Having joined the Civil Service after university, I held 3 AS posts, all in the Department for Education. I began work in product development, creating a new publication on the attainment of pupils in Pupil Referral Units and designing Destination Measures. In my second post I worked in financial modelling, mostly around the impact of academisation, and in my third I worked on the design and analysis of the second Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. I negotiated managed moves into the latter posts largely because of how different they were – for example, my last AS post offered technical statistical work the others had not.

For me, the advantage of being an AS is all about the opportunities to take on stretching work, often in projects alongside the day job – this is a great way to broaden your skills and networks. With the support of my managers, I was lucky enough to work on a range of projects including a review of QA for business-critical models, secondment to a team resolving a major funding error, and a loan to an evidence review of vocational education, learning something valuable from every one. I was also fortunate to be able to line manage for much of my time as an AS; opportunities can be rare but are definitely worth seeking out, given what a different challenge people management can be to the rest of the day job.

I decided I was ready to start applying for G7 when I stopped feeling as challenged as an AS and couldn’t identify any major skills gaps. To help me achieve the promotion, I sought advice from my manager (a former AS) and a mentor before applying for a couple of posts I had limited interest in, for practise and for the feedback. I also joined the GSS assessor panel for prospective StOs, which I found gave me invaluable experience of what makes answers effective in interviews. I picked posts to apply for based on whether I felt I met the competencies and whether the role seemed interesting, and was delighted to be offered my current role in criminal justice statistics.

There are 3 main pieces of advice I would give to AS’ thinking about the route to promotion. The first is to reflect on the gaps in your experience and take the initiative in identifying ways to fill them. The second is to have honest conversations with your managers, about the skills you want to develop when starting roles and your progress while performing them. The third is to try to relax and enjoy the process! Progression is the goal (and I have never been more interested in my work than I am now), but hopefully you will find yourself in a series of interesting roles on route, and with the freedom to do a greater variety of analytical work than a typical G7 gets…

David Jagger, Grade 6, Ministry of Justice

After finishing my Masters in numerical analysis, I joined the GSS and undertook four varied Assistant Statistician posts across three Government departments before taking up a Grade 7 post at MoJ (department #4!). Initially I opted to join Defra, with my first role working on improving the underlying evidence base on sustainable consumption and production, a newly developing policy area. I was then successful in gaining a secondment to the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) in the Cabinet Office, where I provided analytical support on high profile reviews of operational delivery across a range of policies close to the PM’s heart. Working at the very heart of Government was an exhilarating experience, including trips to No.10 and opportunities to spend time experiencing first hand issues faced on the front line – I’ll never forget my day at Heathrow Airport on the hunt for criminal asset smugglers… three years and two AS posts in, I requested to take a career break and was lucky enough to be granted special leave to go backpacking and volunteering all over the Americas, Australia and Asia.


These first experiences on reflection illustrate to me how the Fast Stream has helped shape not just my career but the analyst, manager and person I am today. My first post involved me working closely with policy colleagues to develop a deep understanding of one area, before PMDU challenged me in a completely different ways – I had to think on my feet, often at fast pace, on topics I had little time to become expert in. My (often haphazard) travels often put me in challenging and humbling situations, and I learned a great deal about putting myself in other people’s shoes. This variety of experience taught me a lot about adaptability, composure and the value of ‘soft’ people skills, and completely opened my mind to the potential of where a career in Government could take me. For me, that is the biggest strength of the AS scheme – it open doors across Government and, if you fully embrace it, puts you in the driving seat on your own career path.

Post-travels, I returned to Defra, having negotiated a role trying my hand at a completely different skill set – I designed and project managed a national statistical survey of businesses on their waste production and management activities. This highlighted another perk of being an AS – the assumption was simply made that I could deliver if given the responsibility, and I’m thankful of the supportive managers who granted me the opportunity I wanted to drive through a high profile project from conception to delivery. A key to making the most of being an AS is making sure you push for opportunities which will stretch you, even if they’re intimidating when you first think about them!

I considered applying for Grade 7 at this point, but I felt I lacked experience in people management. It was a important moment for me when I realised this was an area I didn’t just want to ‘tick off the list’ to fulfil my potential and get to Grade 7 as soon as possible – I was genuinely keen to actually be good at it! I consulted with my mentor over what other areas I still needed exposure to, and chose my next post carefully to try to combine line management with a meaty technical area on a topic I could really engage with. My 18 months at the Department for Education working on “value added‟ measures for quantifying school effectiveness was not only fascinating but perfect for my development in every way I’d identified. Discovering how a third organisation was structured and was governed, how a different range of external stakeholders felt and behaved, how evidence is used in a different way to form policy and inform public debate… I cannot stress enough how valuable I found the AS scheme in granted me ease of access to all of Whitehall and opportunity to follow my own interests.

And so on to MoJ… I passed the Grade 7 board and leveraged my recent line managerial experience to take on a large team of statisticians managing administrative data, producing National Statistics products. Again, I chose this post based on a perceived gap in my development going forward – what kind of statistician worth their salt had never worked on a National Stats bulletin?! What I feel helped me get through the panel was not just the time I had invested in broadening my skill set with the final AS post, but also not losing focus on working on subjects and types of analysis which motivated and inspired me – I was able to talk passionately and enthusiastically about the experiences I’d had, fundamentally because in general I had chosen them for myself and knew what I hoped to get out of them. My advice would be to put yourself in the driving seat, work out what inspires you and where you want to be, then get out there and find it…


Laura Gadsby, Grade 7, Ofsted

I wasn’t a particularly “fast” faststreamer but I don’t think this was a bad thing as it meant I experienced a good range of roles. My Fast Stream career was mainly at the Ministry of Defence and mainly in the South West of England. I began by working on price indices which involved giving advice to internal customers on which indices to use when negotiating long term, multi-million pound contracts and also developing an index to measure price escalation in defence contract spending. I then moved into mental health statistics which gave me experience of producing official statistics and dealing with very sensitive data. My next two posts were non-statistical and based in London, firstly in military personnel strategy and then in a secretariat role. I found these roles very useful in seeing things from the perspective of customers of statistical data and would definitely recommend this sort of role to any assistant statistician, even if only on a short term secondment. I then returned to the South West and statistics and worked on defence spending statistics.

By this point I was ready for a change of scene and my final Fast Stream post was working on school inspection statistics at Ofsted. It was interesting to see the difference in culture between the two organisations and to learn about a completely different area of government. I applied for a couple of promotions to roles that I thought would be interesting. I made the most of feedback from unsuccessful applications and thankfully was successful in a role that I then really enjoyed. I would advise against applying for promotions simply because they are at a higher grade. It’s quite a difference going from short faststream placements to a longer term role, and one with more pressure so make sure it’s something that you really want to do.

I think being an AS helped because I benefitted from a range of posts and experiences. Often I was given development tasks that were, in all honesty, things that nobody else wanted to do. But it was often these tasks where I learned the most as usually they were a bit tricky or things that people wanted to get done but simply hadn’t had the time to look at properly. I would definitely advise trying to see the genuine development opportunities in everything you’re asked to do and make the most of them. The same applies to roles. It’s good to think about your skills gaps and when something comes up that ticks the box, don’t be put off by a dull sounding name. And if your post isn’t going as planned, be honest with your line manager and head of profession. I think I also benefitted from additional training and development such as coaching. I would recommend making the most of these opportunities and being cheeky – if you don’t ask you don’t get!


Dawn Fagence, Grade 7, Department of Health

I joined the GSS Fast Stream after doing a year in the Home Office in a junior policy role and a further year in a Government Agency. This gave me a taste of the Civil Service and encouraged me to apply to the GSS Fast Stream (my degree was in Psychology). My first post in the Department of Health (DH) was in Dentistry, this gave me a good grounding in health issues and I went onto posts in Hospital Episode Statistics and Smoking, Drinking & Drugs Statistics, before I decided to see what it was like to work as an analyst in a purely policy role. It took a bit of convincing for my Head of Profession to let me spend a year in the Diabetes Policy Team, but it was a year well spent. The policy team were delighted to have an analyst in their team and I learnt a lot about the policy development process. I then returned to my area of specialism and took a post, on temporary promotion to Grade 7, working on the professional side of statistics. This was a time when the new Statistics Act was passed and I worked on the implications of this and the ‘Independence of Statistics’. At this point I felt that I had ticked all the boxes in the Competency Framework and begun to apply for Grade 7 positions in other Government departments. I gained some good interview experience and also used some of my Fast Stream training budget to employ the skills of a consultant who specialised in helping people write good application forms and develop interview technique. This combined put me in a prime position to apply for the DH’s new Grade 7 Gateway process, which I passed.

I think being a Fast Streamer has really helped me to progress quickly, the training budget that I was given allowed me to take advantage of some excellent courses and equip me with the skills necessary for the next level. I enjoyed moving posts every year or so to gain breadth of experience and cover all the skills necessary for a Grade 7 Statistician. I always kept the GSS Competency Framework in mind when putting forward my preferences for job rotations, and I was lucky enough that the size and range of posts available in DH allowed me to remain in my home department throughout my Fast Stream career, and beyond.

My advice to Assistant Statistician’s now would be to grasp every opportunity given to you with both hands, and do not be afraid to push for skills that you would like to develop – if I had not pursued my interest in policy, as an analyst, I would not have been given this chance to gain essential skills. If possible, try to volunteer for activities outside your current work area, I took up opportunities to sit on interview panels, work on short-term projects in other teams, help with organising conferences etc. These all gave me the chance to broaden my skills set, do interesting and varied work, and ultimately gain promotion.


Sarah Connelly, Grade 7, Department for Work & Pensions

I joined the civil service in June 2009 through the Government Statisticians Fast Stream process. I held 4 AS posts.

My first post was on a Client Statistics development team where I worked on the development, quality assurance and publication of Early Estimates for Working Age Inactive Benefit Client Groups. I also had the opportunity to support other teams in Client Statistics, providing me with a broad range of experiences including answering adhocs and PQs.

In my 2nd role I worked on State Pension Forecasting, exposing me to micro dynamic simulation modelling, budget and workload forecasts and National Accounts. I worked closely with policy within this role, providing analysis on the impact of changes to State Pension Age.

My 3rd role was in Fraud and Error Measurement Analysis where I worked on the development of a Fraud and Error (F&E) measurement strategy for Universal Credit (UC) and sampling approaches.

For my 4th post I joined the Child Maintenance Group and worked in an Analytical team within Central Operations Performance team, supporting operational colleagues in reviewing and improving performance and managing change through analysis, reporting and forecasting. This role gave me line management experience and regular exposure to operational senior stakeholders. It was in this post that I started applying for promotion and when I passed the board I was asked to stay on in my current area as a G7.

When I started in DWP we didn’t have a managed moves process and so I proactively researched and sourced new posts with support from line managers/mentors. I sought roles that would give me new experiences and challenges and address my skills gaps. I would advise Fast Streamers to consider these things when choosing their managed move preferences and to speak to post holders to find out more about the roles in their areas.

Being a Fast Streamer enables you to move regularly to gain a broad range of experiences however I recommend you consider carefully when is the best time to move to a new role. I felt ready to move on after 18 months in 2 of my posts however I stayed longer in the others as I still felt I had more to learn and benefit from in those roles after 18 months. Take opportunities to support work in your wider teams, maximising evidence and experience you can get from each post. Each role should give you valuable experiences you can draw on in your application and interview for promotion.

Taking up multiple posts allows you to learn which areas you like to work in and the type of work you like to do. I have thoroughly enjoyed working in operations. Although it is a fast paced and demanding working environment, you get to work closely with your customers to improve service and performance.

Get involved in corporate activities and working groups outside your team to raise your profile and broaden your understanding of the wider department.


DepartmentsDuring your time as an Assistant Statistician, you may get to work in several departments. Moving across departments is not mandatory, but it is generally recommended as a great way to broaden your experience and get to know different ways of working.

As you have just seen with our senior statistician testimonies, the flexibility to change posts and working environment frequently is one of the great advantages of being on the stream.

Apart from (obviously) offering different types of roles, departments vary in terms of how large they are, where and how they work, and how analysis fits in their wider structure. You will find in the next pages a description of each of the main departments or agencies where Assistant Statisticians can work. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what they do and what it is like to work there. There are also some contact details in case you want to find out more.

Who knows… You might find some ideas for your next move!

Note: Pay information included in the following pages corresponds to the financial year 2015/16, and has been provided by departmental staff and the GSS Professional Support Team.


The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has a community of around 55 statisticians. About a third of the department’s statisticians work in the central Statistical Analysis team, providing advice and support on trade, business sectors, construction, methodology and surveying, data science, and data visualisation. Others work in mixed teams of analysts, embedded in

policy directorates, on higher education, further education, innovation, research, labour market, business population, and local growth. A further 20 statisticians work in BIS partner organisations supporting insolvency, public sector pay determination, competition and markets, and the National Minimum Wage. BIS and its partner organisations produce 11 National and 30 official statistics publications.

The statistical community at BIS meets monthly for a Statisticians’ Lunch, and there is a thriving AS/StO group. There is also a wider analytical community which organises training and other events for all analytical professions, including a regular BIS Analysts Conference.

There are currently two Assistant Statisticians at BIS, who take part in annual managed moves with other analytical Fast Streamers and so have access to a wide range of Fast Stream posts. The current Assistant Statisticians are working in Local Growth Analysis and European Reform.

Contact: Head of Profession - Siobhan Carey, [email protected], Deputy HoP - Frances Pottier, [email protected]

Pay: £27,285 - £33,000 with a £4,010 pay enhancement or £6,000 for staff with a masters or higher

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London

At the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), all analytical professions work closely together within the Analysis and Data Directorate, while maintaining strong links with policy. There are around 50 statisticians across the 6 divisions and teams within the directorate: Data Analytics and Statistics, Housing and Planning Analysis, Local Policy Analysis, Analysis, Research and Co-ordination

Unit, Integration, Decentralisation and Deregulation and the Implementation Unit.

Statisticians at DCLG work on a wide range of influential and high priority National and Official Statistics, alongside other analytical research. This includes: Housing, Planning, Local Government Finance, Homelessness and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. Currently there are 2 Assistant Statisticians at DCLG who work on Homelessness statistics and Housing Market statistics.

Statisticians Gatherings are held regularly to stay up to date with relevant statistical topics as well providing networking opportunities alongside social events. DCLG also offer many opportunities for learning and development, including training courses and analytical seminars from internal and external speakers, as well as Royal Statistical Society membership subscriptions.

Contact: Head of Profession - David Fry, [email protected]

Pay: £27,000 - £35,000


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There are six statisticians and one statistical data scientist in DCMS – three of these posts are currently filled by Fast Streamers. Whilst we are a small team in a small department, we cover a wide range of topics, from museum visitors to superfast broadband, the BBC charter review to the digital sector – we cover all of this and lots more, producing 30 statistical releases a year and working with our arms

length bodies who have an even wider reach! Working in a small department means that our work is not restricted to one specific policy area and we get access to high profile work from an early stage in our careers.

Statisticians within DCMS usually meet up for a weekly catch up, where we discuss interesting things we are working on at the moment. This exposure to the wide range of work is one of the many benefits of working in a smaller department.

Contact: Head of Profession - Mary Gregory, [email protected]

Pay: £31,052 - £37,502 with a £4,000 specialist allowance


DfE is divided into three directorates (Children’s Services Analysis and Research, Education Standards, and Infrastructure and Funding) and three executive agencies (Education Funding Agency, National College for Teaching and Leadership and Standards and Testing Agency). We have 140 statisticians on several sites including London, Sheffield, Darlington, Manchester and Coventry, producing over 50

statistical publications every year in areas as diverse as attainment, social care, early years, absence and exclusions, and teacher training.

DfE has several statistician groups, including regional AS/StO groups, statistical publication producer groups and G7 and above groups, plus wider ranging analytical community groups. There are regular stats and non-stats talks from all areas of the department which are open to everyone.

There are currently 8 Assistant Statisticians here, working on roles including:

► publishing statistics on the number of children and young people with statements of special educational needs and education, health and care plans

► post-16 performance tables development

► the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England

► Head of Profession support

Contact: Head of Profession - Iain Bell, [email protected] or [email protected]

Pay: £28,253 – £36,340 (National), £31,843 – £40,258 (London)

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London, Sheffield and Darlington

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There are about 35 statisticians working at the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), most in a central statistics team with some embedded in teams around the department. We work across a diverse portfolio of policy areas, such as Domestic and Business Energy Efficiency, Clean Electricity and other power sources such as gas and oil. Many of our publications, such as Energy Trends and the

Digest of UK Energy Statistics are designated as National Statistics.

The department holds monthly statistics meetings and we are also well linked in with the other analysts in our Directorate, for example through regular Analysts Forums. There are many opportunities for training within statistics and the analysis directorate. More broadly, a wide variety of clubs are organised within DECC such as yoga, knitting, tai chi and running.

At the moment, there are three Assistant Statisticians at DECC. They are working on Upstream Oil and Gas Statistics, Downsteam Oil Statistics, and Feed-in Tariff Statistics and the National Energy Efficiency Data-framework. All of these projects produce regular National Statistics.

Contact: Head of Profession - Andrew Ray, [email protected]

Pay: £25,759 - £30,251 (National), £27,819 - £34,331 (London), with a £3,989 pay enhancement or £6,489 for staff with a masters or higher


The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)’s shared vision is ‘Creating a great place for living’ and Assistant Statisticians can find themselves working in all key policy areas, including: Great British food, farming, rural communities, environment (including waste and natural capital), biodiversity, and animal and plant health. At any time there are usually between 4 and 6 Assistant

Statisticians working across Defra.

There are around 35 statisticians at Defra who either work in the home department or in the wider Defra group, which includes the Forestry Commission, Rural Payments Agency, Marine Management Organisation, Environment Agency and Natural England. The structure of the core department has been changed recently so that statisticians are embedded in policy teams with other evidence specialists. Defra’s main offices are in London, York and Bristol. The Marine Management Organisation have a strong presence in Newcastle Upon Tyne and The Rural Payments Agency have offices there as well as in Reading, Carlisle, Workington, Exeter and York. There can be opportunities for home working on a flexible basis.

Contact: Head of Profession - Ken Roy, [email protected]

Pay: £27,500 (London and National), with additional allowances of £2500 per year for a relevant MSc, and £1200 per year for relevant work experience

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London and York

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Around 65 statisticians work across 8 directorates in the Department of Health and NHS England, split between Leeds and London locations. Around 60% of the statistical community are based in London and 40% are based in Leeds.

There are 11 Assistant Statisticians working in 7 teams in DH and NHS England. They work across a variety of high profile areas

including tobacco and obesity policy, A&E and cancer waiting times and Lord Carter’s efficiency review.

The junior statistical community at DH meets every few months to share ideas, best practice and discuss training and development opportunities. DH statisticians also belong to a wider community of analysts which organises training and networking for all analytical professions in the Department and other government health bodies.

Contact: Head of Profession - Mark Svenson, [email protected]

Pay: £30,595 - £41,456 (London and National)

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London and Leeds

NHS England (NHSE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health (DH), split across London and Leeds with Leeds being the larger office. The analyst community is mostly found within the Analytical Services and Operational Information for Commissioning teams, with some embedded analysts elsewhere. Roughly a third of analysts are seconded from DH. There are

currently two Assistant Statisticians in London, and two in Leeds. Current and previous Assistant Statisticians have worked in a wide variety of roles and policy areas, including operational planning, cancer waiting times, winter pressures on hospital activity, dentistry and eyecare, diagnostic test waiting times, and financial modelling of new payment systems for the NHS.

Yearly rotations occur within DH and NHSE for analytical Fast Streamers and analytical officers. As secondees from DH we have access to training and networking events provided by both NHSE and DH, including DH’s All Analysts Network seminars and Policy Certificate talks, the new DH Analysts Induction Academy, and regular Fast Stream ‘Bitesize’ presentations. In the London office we also run regular social events, including pub trips, monthly cheese & board games evenings and baking competitions. There is also a lot of lego.

Contact: Head of Profession - Mark Svenson (HoP for NHSE and DH), [email protected]


Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London and Leeds

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There are currently 56 statisticians at the Department for International Development (DFID), the majority of which are at Grade 7 level or above. There are 6 Assistant Statisticians. Statisticians at DfID belong to the statistical group known as the Statistics Cadre, which is one of 13 professional cadres in the department. Cadre members are generally referred to as ‘advisers’ or ‘advisory staff’.

DFID’s statisticians work with international partners to shape the availability of national and international statistics for development. They are involved in maintaining, developing and analysing the statistical evidence base that underpins DFID’s strategy, policy and programming; and building DFID’s capability in managing and using data and statistics.

Contact: Head of Profession - Emily Poskett, [email protected]


Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: East Kilbride and London

The Department for Transport (DfT) has a community of around 50 statisticians. They work in three main statistical divisions embedded in policy directorates: Statistics Roads and Freight, Statistics Travel and Safety and Aviation Maritime Environment Statistics, and there is a team of statisticians in Rail Analysis. Statisticians in DfT cover all areas of transport policy, producing more than 30 National Statistics

publications annually. There are also lots of opportunities for cross-division working at DfT and working with other professions across the department.

The statistical community at DfT meets quarterly for ‘transport statistics events’, and there are regular socials and sports events, including Transport Statistics Bowling and the annual DfT/DCLG sports day. DfT statisticians also belong to a wider ‘Analyst Network’ community which organises training and networking for all analytical professions in the department.

There are currently 4 Assistant Statisticians at DfT. They are working on statistics production, analysis and methodology projects, like walking and cycling statistics, a new search and rescue helicopter statistical series, a new publication on electric vehicles, and working with Ordnance Survey on a new roads database.

Contact: Heads of Profession - June Bowman, [email protected], Julie Brown, [email protected]

Pay: £29,832 - £32,367 (National), £33,990 - £36,879 (London)


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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a large department with the biggest analytical community across government. Statisticians (along with the other 3 analytical professions) make up a valuable part of this, with approximately 180 statisticians working for DWP across various sites. Unlike some departments DWP’s statisticians don’t work in dedicated statistical teams, instead working across professions and locations in a flexible way. Posts range

from developing models for forecasting, producing administrative and survey datasets, and producing publications, to running and evaluating trials, and policy evaluation - with many more roles in between. This allows DWP’s Assistant Statisticians to develop lots of experience in a variety of areas. Assistant Statisticians are split across four main hubs in London, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle, and all jobs are available in all locations.

There are currently ten DWP Assistant Statisticians based in London, seven in Sheffield, five in Newcastle and two in Leeds. All sites have their own analytical and statistical community events, from networking drinks to seminars on stats techniques and regular analytical seminars and discussion groups across all professions.

Contact: Head of Profession - David Frazer, [email protected]

Pay: DWP has a gated review scheme for ASs, so staff receive a pay uplift if they are performing at the expected level after two years. £28,533 before 24-month gated review; £32,785 following 24-month gated review.

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London, Sheffield, Newcastle and Leeds

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a community of over 100 statisticians. They work mainly in the Central Tax and Strategy Group and within that mainly in Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence directorate. The Central Tax & Strategy Group is responsible for the department’s tax professionalism, policy, strategy and analysis. Statisticians in HMRC cover all areas of tax policy, work in policy

partnership with HMT, produce over 130 National Statistics publications annually, and manage data in the HMRC Datalab. Statisticians work alongside other professions and with other Government departments.

There are currently 5 Assistant Statisticians in HMRC. They work mainly in policy partnership and forecasting roles, providing analysis and/or forecasts on various tax policy areas. There is a Fast Stream social network in HMRC which holds monthly social events.

Contact: Head of Profession - Sean Whellams, [email protected]

Pay: £25,000 (National), £27,000 (London), rising to £32,473 (National), £35,096 (London) after mid-point uplift (usually after 2 years).


mailto:david.frazer%40dwp.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:sean.whellams%40hmrc.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


HM Treasury has a community of around 25 statisticians. They work in three main statistical divisions embedded in policy directorates: Fiscal Statistics and Policy, Government Financial Reporting and Labour Markets & Distributional Analysis.

Jointly with the ONS, Fiscal Statistics and Policy is responsible for the production of the monthly Public Sector Finance bulletin. Government Financial Reporting is accountable for the annual publication of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. Labour Markets & Distributional Analysis is responsible for providing impact analyses of policy measures, usually published alongside the main Budget or Autumn Statement document.

There are currently 2 Assistant Statisticians at HM Treasury, working on distributional analysis and tax monitoring.

HM Treasury has a representative that sits in the AS/StO committee which includes members from HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The committee meets to discuss opportunities for continued professional development.

Contact: Head of Profession - Tom Orford, [email protected]

Pay: £28,003 - £45,000 (London), £25,072 - £42,000 (National)


The Home Office has one of the smaller departmental statistical communities, with around 25 statisticians in total – these are divided between Crime and Policing Statistics (based in London), the Chief

Statistician’s Unit (also based in London) and Migration Statistics (based in Croydon).

The majority of Home Office statisticians are based in Crime and Policing Statistics, which is part of the wider Crime and Policing Analysis Unit. There are 3 Assistant Statisticians in this team, working on a number of high profile outputs including the Crime Survey for England and Wales (alongside ONS), the Commercial Victimisation Survey, Police Recorded Crime, Police Powers, Police Workforce statistics and Drugs Misuse and Seizures. Migration Statistics has a team of eight statisticians, including 2 Assistant Statisticians. Work in Migration Statistics is mostly centred around the quarterly Immigration Statistics publication and associated submissions. Finally, the Chief Statistician’s Unit covers all other Home Office statistics that do not fall under crime and policing or migration. This includes statistics on animal testing, football-related arrests and banning orders, and firearm and shotgun certificates.

Across the Home Office there are regular department wide AS/StO meetings, as well as opportunities for Fast Streamers to get together and present their work at “Fast Stream Fridays”. On a more informal level, Home Office statisticians are a sociable bunch, with recent team socials including quiz nights, bowling, games night, and Friday ‘Fish and Chips’ lunch!

Contact: Head of Profession - David Blunt, [email protected]

Pay: £32,037 - £41,796

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London (Westminster and Croydon)

mailto:Tom.Orford%40hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:david.blunt3%40homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


The Ministry of Defence (MOD) employs about 90 statisticians in total. The majority of these work in Defence Statistics which is responsible for producing and reporting figures relating to almost all aspects of the UK’s defence. This includes statistics relating to the health of service people, regular updates on the size of the armed forces, and figures on where MOD personnel are currently based

around the globe. Defence Statistics is also responsible for several attitude surveys which are notable as MOD is one of a small number of departments to run these surveys entirely in-house.

Opportunities also exist for statisticians to work in other areas of the department, providing analytical expertise where needed. These roles range from working with economists in Defence Economics, working directly within policy teams, or on technical issues at the Defence Science and Technology Labs (DSTL).

There are currently 8 Assistant Statisticians at MOD, 6 in London and 2 in Bristol.

Contact: Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Statistician scheme manager - Tom Knight, [email protected]

Pay (includes stats bonus): £33,116 (London), £31,927 (National). Note that as a ‘legacy’ AS in MOD your pay changes at the end of your first year (up lift in stats allowance) and your second year (SEO uplift).

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: London and Bristol

There are about 100 statisticians in MoJ. About half of them work within Justice Statistics Analytical Services (JSAS), including work such as prison population projections; analysis on equality in the justice system; policy analysis, or analytical support to the wider

system (such as the Justice Data Lab, who evaluate effectiveness of schemes to reduce re-offending). As well as JSAS, statisticians work across the department in other analytical or policy teams.

There are plenty of socials, such as a long-running G6 team competition, involving competitive social events! There are also occasional presentations and conferences with the opportunity to hear about the work of other statisticians in the department, academia or justice system. In addition, there is a quarterly meeting of all statisticians in the department.

The 9 Assistant Statisticians at MoJ work in a variety of areas including publication of prison, criminal justice system and re-offending statistics, strategy analysis, and forecasting the prison population.

Contact: Head of Profession - Steve Ellard-Elliott, [email protected]

Pay: £31,000


mailto:DefStrat-Stat-CSD-Hd%40mod.uk?subject=

mailto:Steve.Ellerd-Elliott%40justice.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics, producing a diverse range of outputs from migration to crime statistics to population estimates. As a non ministerial department ONS sit

away from policy, but the statistics produced are central to government decision making. There are opportunities within ONS to work across all parts of the statistical spectrum from developing methodology in areas such as data linkage, to questionnaire design and testing in social survey, to analysis and statistical outputs.

ONS is split across 3 offices: Newport, Titchfield and London. The Newport office is the largest and where the majority of ONS’ economic outputs are produced. The Titchfield office is slightly smaller and produces mainly demographic outputs. ONS Titchfield is also where the England and Wales Census is designed and processed. ONS London has around 35 staff, the majority of whom work on survey methodology. There are also regional analysts sponsored by the Greater London Authority who provide data, analysis and outputs to support the Government of London.

There are currently 3 Assistant Statisticians based in Titchfield and 6 in Newport. Fast Streamers sit within the large analytical community in ONS known as RAS (Researchers, Analysts and Statisticians). RAS hold their own internal annual conference and run regular presentations and social events.

Contact: Heads of Profession - Jennet Woolford, [email protected], Mike Prestwood, [email protected]


Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: Newport and Titchfield

The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body operating at arm’s length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament. The Authority’s statutory objective is to

promote and safeguard the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. The UK Statistics Authority has two main functions:

1. Oversight of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – its executive office

2. Independent scrutiny (monitoring and assessment) of all official statistics produced in the UK.

The UKSA has staff based in Edinburgh and at the ONS offices in London, Newport and Titchfield.

As a fast streamer within the UKSA you could be working in the National Statistician’s PrivateOffice, providing briefing, advice and assistance to the National Statistician and his Deputies. Youcould be supporting the UKSA Board, the National Statistics Executive Group, or the GovernmentStatistical Service Heads of Profession setting the policy for the UK statistical system. Or you couldbe working in monitoring and assessment, ensuring that National Statistics remain a trusted, qualitybrand. There is currently one fast streamer in the UKSA, working in the Private Office.

Contact: Robert Bumpstead, [email protected]

Pay info: £29,543 - £35,510 (London and National)


mailto:jennet.woolford%40ons.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:mike.prestwood%40ons.gsi.gov.uk?subject=

mailto:robert.bumpstead%40statistics.gov.uk?subject=


There are around 200 Scottish Government statisticians working across a variety of departments including central department areas (such as Communities, Justice and Health) and Scottish Government agencies (including Transport Scotland and Marine Scotland).

Some Scottish Government statistician posts sit within larger analytical services divisions, whereas other roles can be more embedded within policy teams. There are central Scottish

Government and agency offices all over Scotland, however, the majority of staff are based in either Edinburgh or Glasgow.

The Scottish Government do not recruit Fast Stream Statisticians under normal circumstances. However, there are Fast Streamers of other professions within the Scottish Government (including Economists, Social Researchers and Generalists). Assistant Statisticians who are interested in a posting at the Scottish Government would need to do so on a loan / secondment basis from their home department. In the first instance, interested parties should contact Roger Halliday, the Scottish Government Statistics HoP (email below).

Contact: Head of Profession - Roger Halliday, [email protected]

Pay: As any Assistant Statistician role would be contingent on a loan / secondment arrangement, the salary would be dependent on the pay within your ‘home department’.

There are around 20 statisticians working in the Valuation Office Agency, mainly split between the agency’s two primary areas of property tax: Domestic (including Council Tax and Private Rental Market) and Non-Domestic Rating. Statisticians can work on one of several high profile publications on property tax, contribute to one of

the agency’s other key analytical outputs, develop new statistical methodologies, support policy decision making or work to improve the agency’s data capabilities.

The Information and Analysis directorate (I&A) is the primary analytical area within the VOA. I&A is relatively small so as a Fast Streamer you’ll get a lot of exposure to very senior staff and, because many other government departments take a keen interest in the VOA’s outputs and data, there are often opportunities for Fast Streamers to interact and network across government in roles with substantial responsibility. There is a vibrant group of 7 Fast Streamers from the analytical professions. At the moment this includes one Assistant Statistician, who has a varied role as part of the pioneering new Data Strategy team.

The I&A directorate is split between Newcastle (part of a campus that includes HMRC and DWP), Manchester and London and the VOA has many regional offices around the country, so there’s a lot of choice about where to work and there are plenty of opportunities to travel across the country.

Contact: Head of Profession - Adrian Ball, [email protected]

Pay: £29,256 - £43,192 (London), £27,045 - £39,946 (National). £35,096 (London), £32,473 (National) after mid-point assessment


mailto:Roger.Halliday%40gov.scot?subject=

mailto:adrian.ball%40voa.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Welsh Government has a community of around 80 statisticians; the majority are based in a central Statistical Services, but some individuals and small teams are ‘out-bedded’ in policy directorates. Working in a devolved administration offers a unique experience; there is a wide variety of statistical posts covering the full range of government business, with the greatest numbers supporting the topic areas over which Welsh Government has the most policy-making responsibility (e.g. health and education). This departmental structure provides Government statisticians with the unusual opportunity to

move (laterally or through promotion) between a wide variety of topic areas without having to move department, providing a diverse range of development opportunities.

Statisticians below Grade 7 within Welsh Government are part of a ‘Statistical Development Group’ (SDG), which meets quarterly and organises their own statistical training, wider development opportunities and, importantly, social events. To further our reach, Welsh Government statisticians also maintain links with other departments in the region as part of the GSS South West and Wales group of analysts, which meets a couple of times a year for networking events.

There are currently four Assistant Statisticians in Welsh Government, in posts supporting a range of high impact policy areas. Recent and ongoing projects they have worked on include the production of the RSS award-winning (Excellence in Official Statistics) Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2014, and the provision of analytical support to the Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales.

Contact: Head of Profession - Glyn Jones, [email protected]

Pay: £29,100 - £34,750

Locations currently with Assistant Statisticians: Cardiff

http://xkcd.com

mailto:Glyn.Jones%40wales.gsi.gov.uk?subject=


Acronyms/Abbreviations GlossaryThe Civil Service loves acronyms. In every department that you work in there will be various new acronyms to learn, but here are some of the common ones used across government:Departments:

BIS - Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

CO - Cabinet Office

DCLG - Department for Communities and Local Government

DCMS - Department for Culture, Media & Sport

DfE - Department for Education

DECC - Department of Energy & Climate Change

DEFRA - Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

DH - Department of Health

DfID - Department for International Development

DfT - Department for Transport

DWP - Department for Work & Pensions

FCO - Foreign and Commonwealth Office

HMRC - HM Revenue & Customs

HMT - HM Treasury

HO - Home Office

MOD - Ministry of Defence

MOJ - Ministry of Justice

NHSE - National Health Service England

OGD - Other Government Department

ONS - Office for National Statistics

SG - Scottish Government

UKSA - UK Statistics Authority

VOA - Valuation Office Agency

WG - Welsh Government

Roles:

AS - Assistant Statistician

DD - Deputy Director

DG - Director General

G7/G6 - Grade 7/Grade 6 - Grades above Fast Stream level

HoP - Head of Profession

Perm Sec - Permanent Secretary

SCS - Senior Civil Service

SoS - Secretary of State - The chief Minister in a department

SpAD - Special Advisor - ‘Temporary’ Civil Servants who are appointed by Ministers to offer political advice

StO - Statistical Officer

TRA/TP - Temporary Responsibility Allowance/Temporary Promotion - A temporary promotion to a higher grade

TSO - Temporary Statistical Officer

Other:

CPD - Continuing Professional Development

CSR - Civil Service Resourcing

CSL - Civil Service Learning

EYR - End of year review

FOI - Freedom of Information

GSG - Government Statistical Group - The professional community for civil servants who are recognised members of the statistics profession

GSS - Government Statistical Service - The community for all civil servants working in the collection, production and communication of official statistics

MYR - Mid-year review

PQ - Parliamentary Question

Sub - Submission - A written document sent to a Minister to provide information and advice

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