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The UK government has named the head of Statistics Canada as its next national statistician, ending a year-long leadership hiatus that has fueled concerns about the quality of key economic data.
André Loranger, who has headed Statistics Canada since 2024, will serve a five-year term starting in the fall, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
Loranger also chairs the UN Conference of European Statisticians and in previous roles “oversaw some of the largest and most complex statistical programs covering all aspects of the Canadian economy,” UKSA added.
His role will include advising the UKSA Board, Government and Ministers on statistics matters, leading the Government Statistics Service and supporting the Office for National Statistics (the UKSA’s executive agency) in efforts to address deep-rooted problems with key economic indicators.
The UK has been without a national statistician since May 2025, when the previous holder of the post, Sir Ian Diamond, resigned over a series of high-profile problems with data critical to economic policy-making – in particular the ONS Labor Force Survey, which underpins unemployment estimates.
Since then, the agency has poured resources into work to correct the LFS and other core data, while sharply reducing work in other areas under the leadership of a new permanent secretary and director of economic statistics.
However, ongoing delays in efforts to replace the LFS with new research continue to make it difficult for policymakers to assess the true state of the labor market.
Previously, the operational management of the ONS was the responsibility of the National Statistician. The UKSA said whether to continue to share the role with the ONS permanent secretary – a temporary step taken following a government-commissioned review of the organization by former civil servant Sir Robert Devereaux in 2025 – “will be considered in the coming months”.
Penny Young, interim chair of the UKSA, said Loranger was an “energetic, inspiring and ambitious leader” who would drive further improvements in economic statistics and help the ONS prepare for the next decennial census in 2031.
In his July speech, Young admitted that it was “disappointing to be without a permanent national statistician for so long” and that while this had not deterred ONS efforts to restructure, it had slowed progress on the wider priorities of the UK statistical system.
The government has also introduced Tom Riordan, the Northern Economic Development Envoy, as the new permanent secretary for the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Rachel Reeves, the then chancellor, appointed Riordan last year to oversee growth strategy in the north of England. He worked closely to achieve the Northern Powerhouse Rail mayors’ agreement, as well as the financial devolution plans that had been put forward by Andy Burnham.
Given his extensive experience in local government, gained through his former role as leader of Leeds City Council, his appointment will be seen as crucial to the new Prime Minister’s devolution agenda.
The Government added that Kat Little will move from her current position as Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office to take up the same role in the newly redesigned Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Williams in Manchester