As Education Secretary, not to mention a graduate of economics from Trinity College, Oxford, you'd think Damian Hinds would be well versed in the use of statistics.
However, it seems that for the second time in less than a year Hinds has fallen into the Twain trap of misquoting statistics.
Last October, chair of the UK Statistics Authority Sir David Norgrove wrote to Hinds regarding concerns over his - and the Department for Education's - use of statistics when speaking to the media.
One of the instances raised in Sir David's letter was a claim by the Education Secretary that "1.9 million more children are now in ‘good' or ‘outstanding' schools since 2010". Sir David said the figure "while accurate, as far as it goes does not give a full picture", and should instead be set in the context of increased pupil numbers and changes to inspections.
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