The Government Statistical Service (GSS) is the community of all civil servants who work in the collection, production and communication of UK official statistics. It includes not only statisticians, but also economists, social researchers, IT professionals, and secretarial and clerical staff. Members of the GSS work in the Office for National Statistics, most UK Government departments, and the devolved administrations. The GSS publishes around 2,000 sets of statistics each year, as well as providing professional advice and analysis to decision-makers.
The National Statistician is the Head of the GSS.
The Government Statistician Group (GSG) is a subset of the GSS, and is the community of professional government statisticians who meet the standards for statistical qualifications and competence set by the National Statistician's Office.