1st Special Report - Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base: Government, UKSA, ONS and OSR responses

This is the government's response, published 6 March 2025.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government accepts some of the Committee's recommendations addressed to it, rejects others, and notes two on funding, while referring the remaining recommendations to the UK Statistics Authority.

• On a new data-sharing programme (recommendation 1), the Government "rejects the Committee's recommendation", saying it is "developing a more comprehensive approach", including a National Data Library, with funding implications "considered in the round" at Spending Review 2025.
• It rejects the recommendation to publish evidence and data underpinning major policy announcements (recommendation 14), stating that such decisions lie with departments, which weigh transparency against factors such as public safety and commercial sensitivity.
• It accepts the recommendation to review health and social care data in the Digital Economy Act 2017, saying it will implement this "by the end of 2025", and states it has "now implemented" the recommendation on training communications staff in Intelligent Transparency.
• On future funding of the analysis function and the Office for Statistics Regulation (recommendations 10 and 12), the Government "notes" them, and HM Treasury "will consider all UKSA funding arrangements as part of Spending Review 2025".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error