What is the difference between the Malta Statistics Authority and the National Statistics Office?
Both the Malta Statistics Authority and the National Statistics Office were established by the same legislative framework - The Malta Statistical Authority Act which was enacted in the year 2000 but came into force the following year. The National Statistics Office is the executive arm of the Malta Statistics Authority. The Malta Statistics Authority, through its Board and its internal structures see that the compilation of statistics by its executive arm continuously meets statistical quality standards while ensuring that finances, mainly through the central government’s subvention is utilised optimally.
From where does the Malta Statistics Authority operate from?
Details of our offices are posted in the ‘Contact Us’ page of this website. The Malta Statistics Authority operates from a designated area within the National Statistics Office premises at Lascaris, Valletta.
How many members constitute the Malta Statistics Authority Board?
The board members that sit on the Malta Statistics Authority Board are established by law as described in Part II, Article 5 of the Malta Statistics Authority Act - Composition of the Authority. The composition of the board is synonymous with other authority’s set-ups in Malta as it is constituted by non-executive members, based on their competency in the field but also encompass society at large. The Malta Statistics Authority is composed of seven members and the Director General of the NSO as an ex-ufficio member. The Chairman and two members are directly appointed by the Minster responsible for Statistics, which so far has always fell within the ministry with the finance portfolio, while the other members originate from the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, The University of Malta and The Central Bank of Malta.
What are the functions of the MSA Sub-Committees?
One of the first resolutions passed by the Malta Statistics Authority Board appointed in 2013 was the setting-up of three sub-committees. These sub-committees treat different areas of governance and are constituted by members of the MSA Board supported by the Malta Statistics Authority Secretariat.
The Governance Sub-Committee is chaired by Prof Leone Ganado and the other members are Dr A. Grech, Prof Edward Zammit and Mr Emmanuel P. Delia.
The Risk and Assurance Sub-Committee is chaired by Mr R. Borg and the other members are Prof Albert Leone Ganado and Dr Aaron Grech.
The Monitoring and Assessment Sub-Committee is chaired by Mr Godwin Mifsud and the other members are Prof Albert Leone Ganado, Dr Aaron Grech and Dr Mario Brincat.
There is no established rule on how many times such committees should meet but they convene depending on the exigencies of the Authority.