Better use of data in government

Proportionate, secure and well-governed information sharing between public authorities can improve the lives of citizens. It can also support decisions on the economy which allow businesses to flourish, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. The government aims to do more to unlock the power of data.

This consultation looks at enabling information sharing between public authorities to improve the lives of citizens and support decisions on the economy and society. The proposals fall into 3 categories:

Improving public services

• allowing public authorities to share personal data in specific contexts to improve the welfare of a specific person
• enabling public authorities to access to civil registration data (births, deaths and marriages)

Addressing fraud and debt

• helping citizens manage their debt more effectively and reduce the overdue debt that they owe to government
• helping detect and prevent the losses government currently experiences due to fraudulent activity

Allowing use of data for research and official statistics

• giving the Office for National Statistics access to detailed administrative government data to improve their statistics
• using de-identified data in secure facilities to carry out research for public benefit