Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Deferred
Paragraph: 67
Inadequate data comparability across UK nations hinders public service evaluation.
Conclusion
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.
Government response summary AI-generated
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 data in official analyses, with work to be completed by Q4 2025/26, subject to funding.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
67
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
OSR accepts the Committee’s recommendation that we review and publish a report on the adequacy of UK-wide comparable data. Our State of the Statistical System report highlighted the need for producers to work in partnership across the UK and provided examples of where statistics producers are making improvements to UK comparable statistics and data. We will build on this work and publish an update in 2025 which shares our more detailed views on the adequacy of UK comparability.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗