Recommendation 19

We suggested that the Department make the data collection mandatory for all local authorities and that they should provide data on a more granular and consistent basis. ADEPT told us the Department had been working with them to understand and improve the data collected without overwhelming local authorities, but said that authorities collect data in lots of different ways using different metrics and different systems. The Department acknowledged there had been challenges with consistency of data, for example, different interpretations of what constituted a single-occupancy vehicle.47 It said it wanted to continue to refine the dataset and confirmed that it would collect data for a second year, but said that it would keep the question of whether to make it mandatory under review. The Department said it was conscious of the cost and burden on local authorities and was thinking about whether there were easier and better ways to access data, for example, through management information systems.48