Government must learn from past failures in data handling

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has warned that the government must learn from past failures in data handling and sharing if it is to build the long-term public consent necessary to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

In their latest report, MPs warn that the failure to provide sufficient explanation of the data underpinning key decisions during coronavirus placed needless strain on public confidence. It urges the government to reinvigorate how data is communicated with the public and shared with partner agencies in the fight against the virus to enable fast, flexible response to the future challenges of the pandemic, and ensure they are supported by society.

The report is highly critical of several members of Parliament, especially Michael Gove, who declined to appear before the committee when called and ministers sent in his place were deemed to have been poorly briefed and unable to answer the questions put to them.

In what is described as ‘wilful evasion of Parliamentary scrutiny’, the committee also reminds the government of its obligation to hold itself open to scrutiny and expects each recommendation to be responded to in full. MPs also stress bar greater clarity is also needed on where exactly in government responsibility for data quality and sharing lies.

Regarding the roadmap to lifting lockdown restrictions entirely, the report asks the government for absolute clarity on the data underpinning decisions to live up to the Prime Minister’s commitment to ‘data not dates’.

William Wragg, chair of the committee, said: "This report is not intended to look at the rights and wrongs of the Government’s decisions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is about ensuring that we, as Parliamentarians, can hold the government to account for those decisions by examining the data. The British public must be commended for how it has risen to challenges that would be unimaginable in any other circumstance. Securing their trust is a crucial factor in the success of our response to the pandemic. For the government to build public confidence, it is absolutely vital that it is open on how it reaches its decisions and the data underpinning them.

“Lessons must also be learnt on how the government shares information with local partners. Delays in sharing vital data, and a reluctance to share detailed data almost certainly hampered the local response. This over-centralisation must not be repeated. I, like the rest of the country, look forward to the easing of lockdown restrictions and a return to normality. If the government learns the right lessons and improves how it shares data with partners and the public, we can be in the best possible position to react to any future stages of the pandemic."