Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Fifth Report - Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 197
Published 24 May 2024
Recommendations
7
Deferred
Para 47
Review exclusion of health and social care data from Digital Economy Act 2017.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response 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 of health and social care data.
11
Deferred
Para 63
Establish UK Statistics Authority framework for prioritising evidence demands and submit triennial findings to Parliament.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response 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, and update its strategy.
13
Deferred
Para 65
Use OSR data gap reports to inform Treasury funding decisions for public evidence.
Recommendation
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 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 to using report findings in future Spending Reviews.
Conclusions (2)
14
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 66
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 …
Government Response 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.
15
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 67
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 …
Government Response 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 data in official analyses, with work to be completed by Q4 2025/26, subject to funding.