Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
7
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Ev…
Deferred
While time in this Parliament now runs short, we recommend that the next Government review the exclusion of health and social care data from the Digital Economy Act 2017. There are understandable sensitivities around the sharing of health data, but it may be that the implementation of research provisions over …
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While time in this Parliament now runs short, we recommend that the next Government review the exclusion of health and social care data from the Digital Economy Act 2017. There are understandable sensitivities around the sharing of health data, but it may be that the implementation of research provisions over the last seven years, and the work that has taken place in the context of the Caldicott review, offer a helpful new basis for discussion concerning their possible inclusion.
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Government response AI summary
The Government accepts the recommendation but states that HM Treasury would consider findings of any future reports from the UKSA (subject to responses to other recommendations) to inform funding decisions related to public evidence, rather than directly committing to review the Digital Economy Act's exclusion …
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11
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Ev…
Deferred
It is time to democratise access to data and evidence. The UK Statistics Authority should establish a framework for identifying and prioritising demands for evidence. We recommend that it use a high-level Assembly (of the kind recently recommended by Professor Denise Lievesley) to draw together information from communities across the …
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It is time to democratise access to data and evidence. The UK Statistics Authority should establish a framework for identifying and prioritising demands for evidence. We recommend that it use a high-level Assembly (of the kind recently recommended by Professor Denise Lievesley) to draw together information from communities across the UK about their needs for evidence and the benefits new evidence would bring, alongside research on data gaps, and public understanding. We further recommend that the UK Statistics Authority submit its findings on the nation’s demands for evidence to Parliament on a triennial basis, for scrutiny by this Committee.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not address the committee's recommendation to establish a framework and high-level assembly for evidence demands, nor to report findings to Parliament. Instead, it discusses the ONS's plans to review the Analysis Function's scope and standard, evaluate its impact by Q2 2025/26, …
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13
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Ev…
Deferred
We recommend that in its conduct of future Spending Reviews, HM Treasury uses the findings from these reports to inform the decisions it takes on the funding of activity relating to the collection, analysis and communication of public evidence.
Government response AI summary
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is exploring ways to provide Intelligent Transparency materials online, developing new social media guidance, and refreshing the Code to articulate IT standards more clearly. It states it already encourages transparency around policy announcements but does not commit HM Treasury …
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14
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Ev…
Deferred
We ask the Government to confirm, in its response to this report, that it supports the principle - enshrined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 - that statistics are for the public good; and that the public good includes not just assisting in the development and evaluation of …
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We ask the Government to confirm, in its response to this report, that it supports the principle - enshrined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 - that statistics are for the public good; and that the public good includes not just assisting in the development and evaluation of policy, but also informing the public about social and economic matters.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not confirm support for the principle that statistics are for the public good, as requested. Instead, it discusses the ONS's acceptance of a recommendation to develop options for Ministers on the routine publication of evidence and data underpinning major policy announcements.
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15
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Ev…
Deferred
It is disappointing that - despite the ever-increasing amount of data available to policy-makers - there are many areas in which it is impossible to compare the experiences of those living in each of the four nations of the UK. This is detrimental to individual citizens, who are deprived of …
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It is disappointing that - despite the ever-increasing amount of data available to policy-makers - there are many areas in which it is impossible to compare the experiences of those living in each of the four nations of the UK. This is detrimental to individual citizens, who are deprived of the ability to compare public services delivered in their part of the UK with those delivered in other parts. These issues were highlighted in a recent review of the UK Statistics Authority; but three months on from the report’s publication, although the issue appears to be a priority for Government, it has not yet made its full response on the issue known.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not address the committee's conclusion regarding the lack of comparable data across the four nations of the UK. Instead, it states the ONS accepts a recommendation for the Analysis Function to explore options for improving transparency around the use of personal …
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