Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic...
Conclusion
Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. We have repeatedly highlighted longstanding data issues within government, including the lack of data standards, ageing IT systems, fragmented leadership, and a culture that does not support sharing data across departmental boundaries. These issues came to a head during the pandemic. For instance, missing or inaccurate telephone numbers within NHS patient records meant that the shielding programme was unable to follow-up letters to 375,000 vulnerable people with phone calls. Similarly, local government lacked access to key information from NHS Test and Trace and public health officials lacked timely information on tests conducted in privately-run sites, hindering their ability to understand and manage outbreaks within their communities. HM Treasury and 6 Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic the Cabinet Office recognise that a key lesson from the pandemic has been the need to improve the quality of data available and assert that. investing in data and dealing with legacy IT issues is high on their priority list. Recommendation: HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office should write to us by 31 October 2021 setting out how they plan to reflect the need to address data and IT issues when prioritising bids for the next spending review. The Cabinet Office should also provide us with a list of its ongoing projects aimed at improving the quality and interoperability of the data available to government by 31 October 2021, detailing goals, target dates and progress for each project.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office should write to us by 31 October 2021 setting out how they plan to reflect the need to address data and IT issues when prioritising bids for the next spending review. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 8 Recommendation implemented 2.2 During this Spending Review, experts within the Central Digital and Data Office (part of the Cabinet Office) have worked with HM Treasury on a Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) bid assurance process. As part of this process, the Cabinet Office provided expert advice to HM Treasury on departmental bids with significant DDaT elements. Advice encompassed factors such as alignment to strategic priorities across the DDaT function as well as the feasibility of the bids. 2.3 This advice was provided in accordance with a standardised and agreed assessment framework shaped around critical digital and data priorities and took into consideration requirements around topics such as legacy IT, cyber security and automation. This specialist advice has helped to ensure critical priorities are funded. 2.4 This advice went into the Spending Round outcomes which made substantial provision for Digital Data & Technology, as set out in the Chancellor’s statement on 27 October and accompanying documentation, and with the additional detail being provided to the Treasury Select Committee this week. HMT departmental settlement conditions will reinforce priorities, and departmental performance will continue to be monitored through CDDO’s Quarterly Business Reviews. 2b: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should also provide us with a list of its ongoing projects aimed at improving the quality and interoperability of the data available to government by 31 October 2021, detailing goals, target dates and progress for each project. 2.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.6 The Data Standards Authority (DSA) is a part of the Central Digital & Data Office (CDDO), and is responsible for cross-government work to improve the quality and interoperability of data across government. The DSA is currently driving four key initiatives to achieve this: ● Setting common data standards: Metadata standards were published in August 2020. The DSA is now working on data-enabled programmes across government, on potential common standards such as Beneficial Ownership, a single Legal Entity Identifier and Digital Identity work. ● Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): initial milestones to establish an API catalogue and community of expert practitioners have been achieved. The DSA has recently expanded the API catalogue to include 230 APIs from 27 departments and is developing an API assessment process. ● Data Sharing Governance: implementing a shared framework to centralise and standardise data sharing documentation, create a shared understanding of resource implications and agree a shared language of terms for creating agreements. ● Adoption of data standards: The first iteration of changes to Point 10 of the Technology Code of Practice (TCoP) were made in December 2020 and further changes are planned as well as potential updates to the Service Standards. There are also a number of other key projects being implemented across the wider Cabinet Office; a full list has been sent to the Committee by letter. 9