Recommendation 10

Currently, the UK has no framework by which to identify, and then prioritise, demands for data and evidence. In the absence of such a framework, and with an ongoing need to have regard to budget constraints, Ministers and HM Treasury wield an inordinate amount of power in deciding what evidence the UK collects and communicates through the decisions they take on departmental budgets. In the context of these systemic shortcomings, significant data gaps have emerged; the UK lacks suitable evidence on the performance of its different health services, for example, and on key policy challenges like school absenteeism.