As Rachel Reeves approaches a tricky budget, her job has got that much harder. Some of our most fundamental economic data, statistics that policymakers are used to accepting at face value, suddenly have major question marks over their accuracy.The UK’s top stats agency, the Office for National Statistics, finds itself under considerable pressure as falling response rates to its surveys leave politicians flying blind.
David Aaronovitch asks what this means for government decisions and how the ONS can rebuild confidence in its most vital statistics.Guests:
Georgina Sturge, research affiliate at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Professor Denise Lievesley, former Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford
Chris Giles, economics commentator at the Financial Times.
Peter Lynn, Professor of Survey Methodology at the University of EssexPresenter: David Aaronovitch
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Producers: Nathan Gower, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming
Studio engineer: Duncan Hannant
Editor: Richard Vadon
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28:24
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28:24
Will the Gaza peace plan work?
There have been in celebrations in Israel and Gaza at the announcement of a ceasefire and the beginning of a longer term plan for peace and reconstruction in Gaza.
There have been ceasefires and hostage releases before, but then the death and destruction has resumed, so why is so much more hope being invested in the current plan? And what’s actually in it?Guests:
Rushdi Abu-a-loaf, BBC Gaza Correspondent
Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London
David Makovsky, Director of the Program on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy
Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming
Studio engineer: Dave O’Neill
Editor: Richard Vadon
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28:06
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28:06
How prepared are we for the next pandemic?
Five years ago we in the UK were in the false lull between the first wave of covid and the second, between the first variant and the second, between the first peak of covid deaths and the second, higher peak. There wasn’t a vaccine and we didn’t know when we might get one. Now it’s a memory. But another deadly pathogen might pop up in fifty years or it might be manifesting its early stages right now. In the final part of our three-part mini-series looking at how the resilient the UK might be in dealing with potential future crises, we’re asking…..how prepared are we to deal with the next pandemic?Guests:
Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford;
Sir Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, and Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford;
Malik Peiris, Emeritus Professor of Virology in the School of Public Health at The University of Hong KongPresenter: David Aaronovitch
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight, Sally Abrahams
Studio engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon
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41:46
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41:46
How prepared are we for cyber threats?
From councils disrupted by ransomware, leaked defence data or individuals duped by deep fakes, the UK faces increasing cyber threats. David Aaronovitch asks his guests how prepared we are - whether as government defending critical infrastructure or as individuals guarding our digital identities.Guests:
Sadie Creese, Professor of Cyber Security in the department of computer science, Oxford University
Dr Aybars Tuncdogan, Associate Professor in digital innovation and information security, Kings College, London
Emily Taylor, CEO of Oxford Information Labs and Associate Fellow, Chatham House Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Ben Carter, Sally Abrahams and Kirsteen Knight
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
Sound Engineers: Dave O’Neill and James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon
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28:42
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28:42
How prepared are we for climate change?
The UK is getting hotter. And wetter. Extreme weather events in the UK are happening more often. And that trend won’t stop any time soon. It all means more flooding and fire risk. Enter the R word - resilience - how well are we coping with what’s going on now, and how advanced is our planning for what’s coming? In the first of our three part mini series looking at how the resilient the UK might be in dealing with potential future crises we ask how prepared are we to deal with the changing climate? Guests:Mark Maslin, professor of Climatology at University College London
Richard Dawson, professor of Engineering at Newcastle University
Jess Neumann, Associate professor of hydrology at the University of ReadingProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Sally Abrahams
Productions co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon
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