Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Paragraph: 44
Government departments fail to share data due to lack of incentives and central coordination.
Conclusion
Despite the passage of relevant legislation in 2017, the UK has failed to bring its disparate datasets together to enrich its public evidence base. Instead, data withers in silos across countless government bodies. Witnesses to our inquiry were clear; the problems here are not legislative, and they do not result from challenges around data protection. The issue is much simpler; departments and public bodies choose not to share data because they do not share an incentive to do so. And no central, coordinating leader has yet made a sufficiently strong case for the benefits of sharing data for statistics and research across government.
Government response summary AI-generated
The ONS is continuing work to develop and improve admin-based population estimates, aiming for them to become official mid-year population estimates in 2025. The Authority also expects to publish its recommendation on the future of population and migration statistics in England and Wales in the coming months.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
44
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The Government rejects the Committee’s recommendation. While the Government is committed to increasing and improving data sharing, the recommended programme structure is rejected on the basis that Government is now developing a more comprehensive approach. The Government is reinvigorating the design of the digital centre of government in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), to maximise the potential of digital, data and technology to deliver digital transformation for the public. HM Treasury confirmed as part of the Autumn Budget the creation of a National Data Library to unlock the full value of our public data assets. This will provide simple, ethical, and secure access to public data assets, giving researchers and businesses powerful insights that will drive growth and transform people’s quality of life through better public services and cutting-edge innovation, including AI. HM Treasury remains committed to better use of data across government. Funding implications will be considered in the round as part of Spending Review 2025.
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