Chaired by Dame Kate Barker, our panel of speakers will discuss the future of RPI in light of the recent announcement from the Chancellor and the UKSA.
 
The speakers will also discuss the challenges and opportunities of new data sources and the development of the Household Cost Indices. This is a good opportunity for SPE members to hear the detail behind the recent announcement and to raise any questions or make their comments to the ONS.

Jonathan Athow is currently the interim National Statistician. He joined the Office for National Statistics as Deputy National Statistician and Director General, Economic Statistics in June 2015.  He began his civil service career at HM Treasury and in 2011 joined HM Revenue and Customs as Director of the Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence directorate and as Departmental Chief Economist.

Jill Leyland is a former vice president of the Royal Statistical Society and a current member of the Advisory Panel on Consumer Prices (Stakeholder). In 2015, with John Astin, she wrote a paper Towards a Household Inflation Index advocating, against the background of problems with the RPI, a new index which would measure inflation as experienced by households in the 21st century. The paper was the starting point for the new Household Costs Indices which are currently being developed by the ONS. 

The meeting will start at 5.30pm and will be held at the offices of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), 2 Dean Trench Street, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HF. The talks will be followed by networking drinks. Booking is required: if you wish to attend, please email admin@spe.org.uk

We are grateful to NIESR for kindly hosting this event.