A shake-up in the regime governing official statistics has created the opportunity for “a step change” in the way data are handled, according to Andrew Dilnot, incoming chairman of the Statistics User Forum which campaigns to improve their relevance and accessibility.

“There is so much that can be done with the numbers we have but we need better and easier access and improved understanding across society,” said Mr Dilnot, principal of St Hugh’s College Oxford and former director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. “The public, policy-makers and politicians are all crucial users.”