The Census should not be abandoned before officials address
long-standing barriers to the sharing of data for statistical and
research purposes, MPs say today.
The recommendation is in a report from the cross-party Public
Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee published
today about the UK's evidence
base.
In June 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) launched a
consultation on its proposals to transform the UK's population
and migration statistics. The proposals said that "a serious
question can be asked about the role the census plays in our
statistical system" and recommended that statisticians in future
"primarily use administrative data like tax, benefit and border
data, complemented by survey data and a wider range of data
sources."
These proposals followed an ambition defined by Government in
2014 that "censuses after 2021 will be conducted using other
sources of data."
However, the Committee's inquiry heard that “concerns remain
about whether data will be available at the granularity required
on topics such as ethnicity, and whether data on topics such
sexual orientation will be available at all.”
Despite having a statistical system that is highly regarded
internationally, the Committee finds that broader opportunities
to benefit from joined-up data are being missed because of
long-standing issues with cross-departmental data-sharing.
The report states that “it is clear that the volume and variety
of data generated within the UK has exploded in scale over recent
years”, while noting “the UK has failed to bring its disparate
datasets together to enrich its public evidence base. Instead,
data withers in silos across countless government bodies.”
The Committee argues “it is time for Government to do what it
promised to do seven years ago, and to join up the UK's evidence
base.”
The Committee's report also finds that there are significant data
gaps so that the UK lacks suitable evidence on, for example, the
performance of its different health services, and issues such as
school absenteeism. It recommends that the UK establish a
framework for identifying and prioritising demands for data, one
which is rooted in the understanding that evidence is for all,
rather than for the government of the day.
MPs highlight concerns that good evidence is not yet being used
effectively in decision-making across government, and find that
government communications too frequently exhibit a disregard for
evidence, which makes it harder for government to build trust in
our democracy and support for policies of the day, as well as
hampering citizens' ability to scrutinise the work of ministers
and officials.
In order to enhance transparency, the report recommends that
going forward, government should routinely publish the evidence
and data underpinning their major policy
announcements.
The inquiry took evidence around issues of privacy and the ethics
involved in the collection and use of data. MPs emphasise that
the public must be involved in making decisions about how the UK
chooses to use personal data in the development of its public
evidence base.
PACAC's report also discusses the poor comparability of data
across the UK. The Committee finds that there are many areas in
which it is impossible to compare the experiences of those living
in each of the four nations of the UK. MPs urge the government to
finalise and publish its plans to improve the comparability of
UK-wide data without delay.
Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional
Affairs Committee, Dame , said:
“In recent years, we have seen a proliferation in the
quantity and variety of data available to us and, as the
committee's inquiry has heard, this provides great opportunities
for all of us.
“However, government has yet to harness these opportunities.
Data remains locked in departmental silos and there are also
concerns over significant data gaps.
“A key area of our inquiry has been delving into the future
of the Census, and our report recommends that we should proceed
with caution when it comes to replacing the Census, until we are
certain that officials have resolved issues around
data-sharing.”
