The government has rejected a number of recommendations designed to improve cross-department data sharing that were made by an influential panel of MPs.
Members of parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee put forward a range of proposals in their Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base report in May last year, shortly after the general election was called.
At the time, PACAC recognised that implementing its proposals would be a task for the next government.
The Starmer administration’s response to the report rejects three of the main proposals. They include developing a “comprehensive new programme aimed at improving data-sharing for statistical and research purposes” and establishing mechanisms to ensure the costs of data sharing are borne centrally, rather than by individual departments.
In May last year, PACAC said the Cabinet Office’s existing initiatives for improving data sharing were "self-evidently insufficient". It called on the department to work with the Office for National Statistics to develop the programme for improvement.
The report said: "The programme must clearly define deliverables and timelines, and must be owned by a senior responsible officer at an appropriately high level."
PACAC said the Treasury should be responsible for creating the new system for removing cost as a department-level barrier for data sharing. The committee's report found data-collecting departments are often saddled with financial and technological costs associated with establishing data shares, while other – “receiving” – departments are more likely to build up benefits from data-sharing. Those benefits were described as potentially improved policy objectives, or simply the ability to publish more robust and detailed analyses.
In the official government response to the report, ministers insist they are “committed to increasing and improving data sharing" but say an even more comprehensive approach than that prescribed by PACAC is being developed.
“The government is reinvigorating the design of the digital centre of government in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, to maximise the potential of digital, data and technology to deliver digital transformation for the public,” the response says.
It adds that the Treasury confirmed the creation of a National Data Library at the Autumn Budget, which will “unlock the full value” of the nation’s public data assets.
“This will provide simple, ethical, and secure access to public data assets, giving researchers and businesses powerful insights that will drive growth and transform people’s quality of life through better public services and cutting-edge innovation, including AI,” the response says.
“HM Treasury remains committed to better use of data across government. Funding implications will be considered in the round as part of Spending Review 2025.”
Another rejected PACAC proposal is a recommendation for the routine publication of evidence and data underpinning major government policy announcements.
Ministers said decisions to share data and evidence in the development and communication of government policy lie with departments, where policy teams work with the analytical function and Government Communication Service.
“In making these decisions, departments consider the need for transparency alongside factors such as public safety, commercial sensitivity, or international relations,” the response said.
“The government will continue to engage with the UK Statistics Authority to enable the effective and efficient provision of public services and improve people’s lives.”
Ministers accepted three PACAC recommendations, including a call for all government communications professionals to be trained on the Office for Statistics Regulation’s “Intelligent Transparency” guidance.
Ministers said: “The GCS have incorporated the Intelligent Transparency guidance into the Data and Insight discipline section of our Modern Communications Operating Model.”
The MCOM states: “When referring to data and statistics in the public domain you will need to follow the Intelligent Transparency guidance from the Office for Statistics Regulation. For any figure you quote in the public domain, the full study from which they are from will need to be published. You will also need to work with those producing the data and statistics to ensure they are aware and agree with the interpretation in any communications.”
The government response said the GCS’s online Data & Insight for Communicators course also refers to the Intelligent Transparency guidance.
Ministers also committed to review the exclusion of health and social care data from the Digital Economy Act 2017, in line with another PACAC recommendation.
In its introduction to the full set of responses to Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base, PACAC expressed disappointment that ministers had taken so long to either accept or reject recommendations.
It said responses from the UK Statistics Authority, ONS, OSR and national statistician Prof Sir Ian Diamond had been provided in November.