(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Covid inquiry: Top scientist defends ‘England-centric’ data [1] [] Date: 2024-02 One of the UK’s top scientific advisers has defended an “England-centric” approach to data during the coronavirus pandemic. Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street operation has already faced withering assessments of the way it processed key figures in the early days of Covid. Now Ian Diamond, the UK’s national statistician, has acknowledged there was a focus on England over the devolved nations when it came to data, though he insisted steps were taken to ensure Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were properly considered. “I would have to say that I would agree that a lot of the data which were looked at were England-centric,” he told the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry. Get our free Daily Email Get one whole story, direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up now “I would also, though, say that Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish colleagues were at every SAGE meeting. “And on very many occasions, I can recall Patrick Vallance [the UK’s former chief scientific adviser] making an effort specifically to bring in those colleagues and the Welsh government did have a technical advisory cell and we presented to that cell when invited.” He added: “I would also say that much of the modelling that went on used the Covid-19 Infection Survey, and that’s UK wide.” The inquiry restarted in Cardiff on Tuesday and is set to spend the coming weeks examining how the pandemic was handled by the Welsh government. Giving evidence, Diamond outlined how the infection survey came about because surveys are the favoured “knee jerk” reaction of statisticians. Initially focused on England for a three-month trial period, it was later extended to the other nations, starting with Wales. The inquiry has previously been told about tensions between Westminster and the devolved administrations, including claims Johnson feared creating the impression of a “mini-EU” if Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland were seen to work too closely with his own administration. Concerns about how England’s larger population affected how UK-wide figures were perceived were also raised by Dan Wincott, an expert on the Welsh government based at Cardiff University. Speaking at the inquiry, he said: “I think there’s a broader issue about the way that data on England tends to dominate UK-wide data. “There are often issues about the sample size in Wales being too small to say anything meaningful about Wales itself, and so on.” The inquiry continues. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-19-inquiry-top-scientist-defends-english-centric-data/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/