UK statistics authority chair Andrew Dilnot has criticised work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s misleading claims on the impact of capping benefits. This is not the first time that he, and the department he heads, have been found to have misused statistics.
UK statistics authority chair Andrew Dilnot has criticised work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s misleading claims on the impact of capping benefits. This is not the first time that he, and the department he heads, have been found to have misused statistics.
The Trades Union Congress had written to the statistics watchdog, urging it to investigate his claim that the benefits cap had led 8,000 unemployed people to find work. It was found that the claim was “unsupported by the official statistics”. (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18310)
This is not the first time that the Statistics Authority has raised concerns about this department. The parliamentary work and pensions committee has also criticised misuse of statistics. But there does not seem to have been any improvement.
When facts and figures are repeatedly twisted or made up to justify government policy, this is not only ethically wrong but also undermines democracy. The public cannot form reliable opinions, or Parliament make informed decisions, if the statistics guiding them are false or misleading.
If the Prime Minister still thinks that Iain Duncan Smith is a fit person to be in charge of decisions affecting the welfare and sometimes survival of many of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society, it is a grim reflection on the UK today.
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(c) Savitri Hensman is a regular Christian commentator on politics, social justice, welfare and religion. She works in the care and equalities sector and is an Ekklesia associate.