Data and statistics and the insights generated from them are critical to effective democracy, decision making, and accountability. Timely and accurate data and statistics support equity by informing public policy decisions, resource allocation, and service design and delivery. The bill we are debating repeals the Statistics Act 1975 and replaces it with a modernised and futureproofed Data and Statistics Act in line with international best practice. It enables a coherent, system-wide approach to addressing data gaps and improving the quality of data used for official statistics and research, under the leadership of the Government Statistician. As Minister of Statistics, I continue to be responsible for specifying the Government's data and statistical priorities, or the "what" of the statistical production. This mirrors the Minister of Statistics' role in the current legislation. The statistical independence of the Government Statistician is preserved, and that is what I would describe as the "how" of statistical production.