Formal data-sharing mandates should be introduced in UK public sector, suggests study
Permanent secretaries in the UK civil service should be given formal mandates to share data for the public good, according to a new study by PA Consulting in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Based on interviews with 29 experts from 20 public sector organisations, including the Cabinet Office, the NHS, the Home Office and the Department for Education, the report calls data-sharing the “beating heart of a successful public sector” and says it is key to meeting the government’s five missions. These priorities outlined by the Labour administration when it took power in July 2024 are to: kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, make streets safer, break down barriers to opportunity, and build an NHS fit for the future.
Mission-related examples cited in the report include linking mobile data with crime statistics to identify crime hotspots and inform targeted interventions, and linking personalised data with risk factors for disease to enable preventative healthcare.
The study summarises the key challenges to data-sharing in the public sector as lack of leadership and confidence; constrained resources and funding; and inefficiency in access to data, as well as attitudes to risk and transparency.
It states: “Despite many in Whitehall having grand aspirations for data-sharing reform, aspirational plans have not withstood contact with the complicated realities of the public sector. And while many have stated their intentions to grasp the opportunity that data-sharing and use bring, there isn’t a critical ‘senior’ mass of genuine support in favour of reform. Those with power need to use it.”
Read more: UK digital chiefs emphasise the need for data foundations to unlock government transformation
Role for a central data-sharing service
A key recommendation is that secretaries of state should give permanent secretaries a mandate to share and use data as an asset for the public good in support of departmental objectives. Under the proposal, senior civil servants with departmental responsibility for data would also have a ‘letter of responsibility’ to facilitate access and the use of their department’s data for the public good. Such letters would be coordinated by a central digital and data office with sufficient powers to facilitate, encourage and, if necessary, enforce their application in practice.
The Government Digital Service was recently designated as the UK’s ‘digital centre of government’ within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, merging the Central Digital and Data Office, Incubator for AI and the Geospatial Commission.
The report says that in an ideal world, there would be a central year-round secure data-sharing service to govern and administer streamlined data-sharing.
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Making data a national asset
Other recommendations in the report to overcome data-sharing challenges include establishing a plan for creating an “empowering environment” for data-sharing and a road map for improving the skills of data professionals.
The study calls for a central function for reviewing data-related project proposals to better allocate funding. It also outlines the potential for legal and policy changes to redefine public sector data as a shared national asset rather than the property of individual departments.
A further recommendation is to establish a set of data assets across departments tailored to the five missions, and a plan to mobilise them. This plan would specify using data services that are already active, such as the Integrated Data Service, One Login, and Data Marketplace, and articulate how the forthcoming National Data Library will enable these datasets to be used effectively in future. The report also flags a need for cross-departmental groups of analysts to collaborate on mission-focused data analysis.
It finds that incompatible technology prevents fast and seamless data-sharing and suggests a thorough review of the government and the public sector’s technology systems.
The report concludes that: “Taking our recommendations forward, it should be possible to draw up a detailed, practical delivery plan for transforming data-sharing in the public sector – making it healthier and more effective. And it’s a transformation that’s crucial for the sector to achieve the UK government’s five missions.”
Read more: UK experts talk driving a data-sharing culture in the public sector
About Sarah Wray
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
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