UK government delays appointment of new statistics chief for over a year

The UK government has been criticised for taking too long to appoint a new head of the Office for National Statistics, more than a year after the previous chief stepped down. Ian Diamond left the role following a series of data errors that damaged the agency's reputation. Penny Young, who is temporarily leading the UK Statistics Authority, admitted the hiring process had been slow at every step, though she said a decision was nearly ready. The delay has made it harder for the ONS to tackle its most urgent problems. These include serious concerns about labour market figures, which the Bank of England found unreliable when setting interest rates, and repeated errors in migration data. One recent review suggested the top job might need to be divided into two separate roles.