Driving better use of data across government

Good quality data is an invaluable resource. Better use of data across government effectively leads to better policy and can help to radically improve the quality of people’s lives.

Positive developments

There is increasing recognition across government of the importance of data:

• We have a government-led National Data Strategy, with an ambition to create a more joined-up and efficient government that delivers services quickly, cheaply and securely
• The recently updated document Transforming for a digital future: government’s 2022 to 25 roadmap for digital and data states that “By sharing and reusing the most valuable datasets where it’s safe and legal to do so, policymakers and analysts will be able to make better decisions, leading to better outcomes for citizens.”
• The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was reintroduced in the King’s Speech – it brings welcome flexibilities to data protection legislation
• In recent months, we have seen that Departments are increasingly prepared to listen to requests to share data and to act where they feel they can. We talk about the changes that they have made below

All of these developments are very welcome.

Policy in Practice is enabling the better use of data across government

The effective use of data is key to the work of Policy in Practice. We have recently used data in several imaginative and innovative ways:

• Our groundbreaking Multi Agency Safeguarding Tracker (MAST) platform joins up data to help safeguarding professionals (local authorities, NHS, police, fire and rescue) make more informed decisions about vulnerability
• By combining traditional methodologies with more recent claim and award data, we have produced a robust estimate of £19 million in unclaimed support and benefits. This figure is now widely used and quoted, for example on Radio 4’s Money Box
• In a campaign backed by the Mayor of London, we have used data to pinpoint more accurately who is missing out on Pension Credit. As a result, local authorities in London have so far helped well over 2000 pensioners claim Pension Credit worth over £8 million

Policy in Practice is delighted to be part of the drive to make better use of data. But much more can be done to build on this success.

Pushing for cultural change in Whitehall

In recent evidence to the Public Administration and Public Affairs Parliamentary Committee, our colleague, Hetan Shah, from the British Academy, called for policymakers to publish data sources when announcing new policy. Whilst there are always trade offs involved in policy decisions, it would be very reassuring to know what data evidence has been considered.

Policy in Practice strongly supports this view, and uses administrative data (with the permission of our local authority partners) to model the impact of changes in welfare policy. What, for example, was the evidence that led the Government to introduce the two-child limit and the benefit cap in welfare benefits? Policy in Practice evidence shows that these measures were unlikely to meet their objectives and have simply resulted in greater child poverty.

The Committee also heard about lessons from the pandemic. First, and unsurprisingly, the pandemic brought to the surface significant gaps in data. For example, it was claimed that between 100,000 and 140,000 children went missing from school altogether during the pandemic. But it turns out that no one actually knows how to count the children who may be missing school.

The Children’s Commissioner for England has said that the Department for Education knows how many and what percentage of children are in school every day, but they do not know if those are the same children who are attending every day. So the figures quoted may be misleading, and there are clearly gaps to be filled.

On the other hand, Hetan Shah praised the work done during the pandemic, in particular by the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service, in responding really quickly with initiatives such as the COVID-19 infection survey and a range of informative dashboards. The lesson here is that, when there is a real crisis, data can be shared and analysed very rapidly to meet essential needs. So, why can’t we do this at other times as well?

Pushing the boundaries in local government

The important role of local authorities making best use of data is also gaining recognition. In his evidence to the Public Administration and Public Affairs Committee, Hetan Shah said ‘The other part that often gets left out is local authorities. They have very different capabilities. When we are thinking about the UK’s evidence system, we ought to think at that level as well.’ In our view, local authorities can be at the heart of the data revolution.

Policy in Practice has plenty of experience of helping local authorities make the most of their administrative revenues and benefits data to identify households who lack financial resilience and who need support.

Local authorities have rightly been focusing on the use of data for positive, proactive purposes such as widening access to benefits, taking a holistic and supporting approach when engaging with people in debt, and opening up access to cheaper credit. The Policy in Practice Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) is an analytics platform that helps local authorities with these tasks.

DWP recognises the importance of this work and has made significant improvements in data sharing with local authorities. Local authorities should feel confident about the freedoms that they now have. In our experience, about one in six still take an unduly risk averse view to the use of DWP data, typically because no-one senior feels able to assert that data governance is enabling rather than restrictive.

Three actions for better data sharing

When it comes to sharing data with local authorities, we have identified three areas for priority action:

1. Recognise that it is proportionate to share whole datasets

Departments should accept that it is fair and legal to share data on a whole cohort to identify those who need support. At present, DWP shares Universal Credit data with local authorities primarily for use in calculating council tax support. The data is limited to those people who express an interest in applying for council tax support. DWP would argue that this is in line with the data protection principle that it can only share data that is absolutely required for a particular purpose and no more.

However, local authorities need data on more Universal Credit recipients in their area, ideally all of them, so they can ensure no one is missing out on available help and to target support to those who need it most. We are confident that providing data to local authorities on all their Universal Credit recipients would significantly improve the take up of benefits and is proportionate for this purpose.

2. Broaden the scope of existing legal gateways

The Digital Economy Act 2017 provides welcome legal gateways for the sharing of data, aimed specifically at improving the wellbeing of vulnerable households. However the Act is geared towards small scale data sharing and has been used mainly to match data on limited numbers of people. This doesn’t help with identifying those who need help in the first place.The Cabinet Office ought to look at further reform.

Other legal gateways, such as the relevant social security regulations, are interpreted narrowly by DWP and HMRC. For example, the 2013 regulations state that data can be used to identify residents impacted by the Benefit Cap and under-occupation charge. But it can’t be used to identify residents impacted by the two child limit, as this policy isn’t explicitly referenced in the regulations.

Institutionally, DWP and HMRC are understandably risk averse. To overcome this, the legislation needs to change much faster in response to growing needs. DWP is planning reform but this should be given much higher priority.

3. Adopt a common approach among government departments

It is frustrating for local authorities when government departments adopt different data sharing policies. For example, DWP and HMRC have different views on who is responsible for deciding the purposes for which shared data can be used. This hampers the work local authorities are doing to identify and engage with vulnerable residents.

We recognise that government departments have different constraints but the emphasis should be on a unified approach and making data available for the common good.

Central government can lead the way

Where government departments own the data, for example where they are the data controller, they can play a leading role in providing better access to it. This includes making evidence used for policymaking more readily available and sharing data responsibly. The presumption should be that, with appropriate safeguards, data should be published to help understand decisions being made and data should be shared where the objective is to drive better outcomes.

Often the barriers to data sharing appear to be institutional and require leadership from the top, in both central and local government, to highlight real tangible benefits from greater data sharing across the public sector.

As the Information Commissioner’s Office data sharing code of practice states:

Data sharing can help public bodies and other organisations to fulfil their functions and deliver modern, efficient services that make everyone’s lives easier. It can help keep the vulnerable safe at times of crisis, and help to produce official statistics, research and analysis for better decision-making for the public good.

Join our UC data roundtable

It is heartening to see the growing recognition that effective use of data can bring real benefits to society. In the work we do with local authorities and other bodies, Policy in Practice is constantly demonstrating the value of using data imaginatively. Despite the barriers that still exist, there are grounds to be optimistic that we are heading in the right direction, and will see further improvements in the use of data before long.

Policy in Practice hosts a regular roundtable with local authorities to discuss how administrative data can be used to help councils to increase incomes, prevent crisis, improve life outcomes and deliver more cost-effective services. To request to join the roundtable email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk.