Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 19 February (HL2184), how many of the 20 Integrated Data Service projects and 600 Secure Research Service projects referred to in that answer have a lead researcher whose primary affiliation is given as (1) academic, (2) central government, (3) commercial, (4) local government, (5) non-commercial, and (6) the Office for National Statistics.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 14 March is below and attached.
The Lord Clement-Jones CBE
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
22 March 2024
Dear Lord Clement-Jones
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 19 February (HL2184), how many of the 20 Integrated Data Service (IDS) projects and 600 Secure Research Service (SRS) projects referred to in that answer have a lead researcher whose primary affiliation is given as (1) academic, (2) central government, (3) commercial, (4) local government, (5) non-commercial, and (6) the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (HL3276).
Of the monthly average of 600 projects running in the SRS during 2023, 382 were led by those affiliated with the academic community. There were no academic lead projects within the Integrated Data Service for the same period.
For the same period, the number of projects led by central government on the SRS was 43; these include agencies, public bodies, devolved administrations, ministerial and non-ministerial and public research bodies. The number of central government lead projects on the IDS was 10.
The number of commercial lead projects on SRS projects was 81; these include private sector organisations, primarily think tanks and consultancies. There were no lead researchers within this affiliation attached to the 20 IDS projects.
The number of local government affiliated lead projects in SRS was 6. There were no lead researchers within this affiliation attached to the 20 IDS projects.
The number of non-commercial affiliated lead projects in SRS was 69; these include those categorised as third sector/voluntary. There were no lead researchers within this affiliation attached to the 20 IDS projects.
The number of Office for National Statistics lead researchers on SRS projects was 19. The subsequent number for the 20 IDS projects was 10.
We have recently communicated the timetable for the transition to IDS to our SRS users and over the next year, the IDS will scale its data at pace and onboard a range of users from across all the aforementioned user groups in SRS, leading to a more varied distribution of user types accessing projects on the IDS. The IDS has an ever-growing list of prospective use cases that it will onboard throughout 2024 as the service scales its data catalogue and analytical tooling capabilities.
In light of your interest in the IDS and to provide additional context around the SRS and IDS figures in this and our previous responses, I would like to personally offer our team to come and showcase the service, discuss future prospects around the SRS and IDS and answer any further questions you have. We would be delighted to attend a location at your convenience, if this is an attractive proposition.
Yours sincerely,
Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of running the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Integrated Data Service in 2023; how many projects were active in the Integrated Data Service in 2023; and what are the equivalent figures for the ONS Secure Research Service for the same period.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Noble Lord’s Question of 5th February is attached.
The Lord Clement-Jones CBE
House of Lords London
SW1A 0AA
13 February 2024
Dear Lord Clement-Jones,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking (1) what was the cost of running the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Integrated Data Service in 2023; (2) how many projects were active in the Integrated Data Service in 2023; and (3, 4) what are the equivalent figures for the ONS Secure Research Service for the same period (HL2184).
The approximate costs of running the nascent Integrated Data Service in 2023 were £4,200,000, including infrastructure costs that permit future scaling of the service.
There were 20 active projects within the Integrated Data Service in 2023.
The cost of running the ONS Secure Research Service in 2023 were £7,000,000.
The Secure Research Service had a total of 842 projects during 2023. On average, there were around 600 live projects at any one time during 2023.
Equivalent operating costs and projects numbers should be interpreted with caution. The Integrated Data Service (IDS) is in development and currently operates within a BETA maturity phase. In September 2023 IDS received Digital Economy Act (2017) accreditation for data provision, making IDS the first cloud-native trusted research environment to be accredited for data provision under the legislation and opening the opportunity to scale.
The IDS is built to be future proofed, to better enable the Government’s data sharing agenda in a more effective and efficient way. The IDS will grow at pace over the remainder of the programme with a pipeline of additional and transformational capability, data, projects and users which exceed the capabilities of the Secure Research Service (SRS). Improved data integration and cross-sector collaboration enabled through cloud technologies will drive significant uptake.
The SRS is a long-standing and mature Trusted Research Environment which has operated in its current form since 2017, having previously operated as the Virtual Microdata Laboratory (VML) from 2004. The SRS grew rapidly upon achieving DEA accreditation in 2019, which enabled greater expansion of its data catalogue and user base. An improved trajectory is anticipated for the IDS with many SRS’s data sets, as well as projects (where applicable) migrating to the IDS as part of a transition that is underway.
Yours sincerely.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 11 December (HL589) where they stated that "before laying the National Procurement Policy Statement in Parliament a Minister of the Crown must carry out such consultation as the Minister considers appropriate", how they intend to consult relevant stakeholders, such as providers of goods and services, prior to laying that statement.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office will develop and deliver its approach to consultation in line with the requirements in Section 13 of the Procurement Act.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a complete list of (1) data sets, and (2) projects which are currently active within the Office for National Statistics Integrated Data Service.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Clement-Jones
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
24 January 2024
Dear Lord Clement-Jones
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking if we will provide a complete list of (1) data sets, and (2) projects which are currently active within the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Integrated Data Service (IDS) (HL1623).
The IDS currently has 92 datasets ingested into the service. These datasets are available to accredited analysts and researchers from both the government’s analytical function and the wider research communities.
In terms of analysis taking place within the service, there are currently 15 live analytical projects within the IDS. While this is the number of live projects, there are other analysis proposals at a conceptual or approvals stage that will support policy development.
Future information on analyses and data will be made available in due course to ensure continued transparency of data and analysis within the IDS, in line with other Trusted Research Environments, such as the ONS’s Secure Research Service.
To ensure full transparency, a complete list of data sets and projects are listed in Annex A and Annex B respectively.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Annex A:
A complete list of datasets which are currently within the Integrated Data Service.
Data Set Name |
Valuation Office Agency (VOA) |
Pluto Business to Business Matrix |
Energy Performance Certificate |
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) |
Standard Industrial Classification/Standard Occupational Classification (SIC/SOC) References |
Annual Population Survey |
Business Register Employment Survey |
ONS Births |
ONS Deaths |
GP Registration aggregate count |
Aggregate Age/Sex counts for mid-year pop stats |
Aggregate Age/Sex count for mid-year internal migration |
Aggregate Age/Sex counts for UK regular Forces and Gurkhas |
Aggregate Age/Sex counts for by prison, age and sex |
Personal Demographics Services – Flag 4 National monthly July 2022 |
Statistical Population Dataset v4.1 |
Long Term International Passenger Survey (IPS) |
Dynamic Population Model (DPM) International Emigration monthly |
International Immigration monthly |
Integrated Data Asset – Energy Performance Certificates |
Integrated Data Asset – Ordnance Survey Private Outside Space |
Integrated Data Asset – Land Registry Price Paid |
Geographical Look ups |
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Attribute Data |
Population Statistics; Synthetic |
Regions (December 2019) England Boundaries Generalised Clipped (BGC) |
Census 2021 – MVP |
Labour Force Survey UK – People |
Labour Force Survey UK – Household |
Labour Force Survey UK – Longitudinal |
Business Enterprise R&D (BERD) |
Business Structure Database (BSD) |
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)-Census 2011 |
Update to Births |
Update to Deaths |
Redelivery of Census 2021 (extra variables) |
Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) |
General Practitioner Episodes Statistics (GPES) |
Census 2021 linked to Labour Force Survey (LFS) |
ONS Mortality |
Indices of Depravation |
Mid-Year Population Estimates |
Small Area Population Estimates |
Business Register Employment Survey (BRES Un indexed) |
Census 2011 Origin Destination EW |
ONS Geography Boundary Products |
ONS Geography Products |
Aggregated Workplace Zone Geography |
Census 2011 Output Tables |
Census 2011 Output Tables Long |
England Wales Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Lookup |
National Travel Survey Data |
Census 2021 Output Tables |
Census 2021 Output Tables Long |
OpenStreet Map Data |
DfT Origin Destination Pairs |
Bus Timetable Data |
Journey Times to Key Services |
Trip End Model Program |
International Passenger Survey (IPS) |
(Nomis – Claimant accounts |
Nomis – Jobseeker allowances |
Nomis – Population estimates |
Nomis – Annual Business Inquiry |
Nomis – Business Register Employment Survey (BRES) |
UK Small Area gross value added (GVA) estimates |
Police Crime Data |
Synthesizing Census Data |
Business Enterprise Research and Development - Great Britain |
Monthly Business Survey - UK |
International Trade in Services - UK |
Annual Foreign Direct Investment Survey - UK |
Annual Purchases Survey - UK |
Quarterly Capital Expenditure Survey - UK |
E-commerce Survey - UK |
UK Manufacturers’ Sales by Product Survey |
COVID-19 Vaccine Opinions Survey - England |
Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey - UK |
Census 1991 Individual - Great Britain |
Census 2001 Individual - UK |
Effects of Tax and Benefits - UK |
Foreign Direct Investment - UK |
Mergers & Acquisitions Survey - UK |
Public Health Research Database |
General Lifestyle Survey – Great Britain |
Monthly Business Survey for Construction and Allied Trades GB |
Labour Force Survey Longitudinal, Household & Personal - UK |
Business Register Employment Survey (BRES – Indexed against Business Index only) |
Annual Acquisition and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey - UK |
Census 1991 Household - Great Britain |
Annual Survey of Goods and Services - UK |
Census 2001 Household - UK |
Annex B
A complete list of projects which are currently active within the Integrated Data Service.
Project Title |
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) - ONS/HMT levelling up |
Testing Bayesian methods for Demographic Accounting |
Exploring Census 2021 Data to identify specific industry sectors or economic activity groups that require further analysis |
Describing the interaction of climate and health in global official statistics. |
Evaluating placed based programmes (DLUHC / ONS project) |
Count of usual resident stratified by sex, age, ethnic group and deprivation for various geographies in England |
Energy Efficiency of Housing |
Exploring the health drivers of economic inactivity |
Intermediate Consumption |
Producing estimates of school aged children, by Local Authority, and pupil characteristics |
Mobility and Geospatial Programme |
Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities Subnational Expenditure by Local Authority District |
Synthesizing the Census for and in the IDS |
Differences between Census 2021 and ONS household surveys in relation to the estimates of Welsh language ability |
XGOV Levelling-up analysis |
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the timeline is for implementing the new National Security Unit for Procurement within the Cabinet Office, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023; and who will be responsible for leading it.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Unit for Procurement, based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers who may pose a risk to national security and assess whether companies should be barred from public procurements. The Unit was announced as part of stepped up measures to protect national security in government contracts and will be operational in time for commencement of the Procurement Act in autumn 2024, when debarment and exclusion powers come into effect.
The Cabinet Office will also lead on the new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS). Before laying the NPPS in Parliament a Minister of the Crown must carry out such consultation as the Minister considers appropriate and make any necessary changes as a result of it. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the consultation process and timeline for renewal of the National Procurement Policy Statement, and which Department will be responsible for leading this.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Unit for Procurement, based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers who may pose a risk to national security and assess whether companies should be barred from public procurements. The Unit was announced as part of stepped up measures to protect national security in government contracts and will be operational in time for commencement of the Procurement Act in autumn 2024, when debarment and exclusion powers come into effect.
The Cabinet Office will also lead on the new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS). Before laying the NPPS in Parliament a Minister of the Crown must carry out such consultation as the Minister considers appropriate and make any necessary changes as a result of it. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many automated decision-making systems are currently in use by the Cabinet Office to assist with making decisions that affect people’s legal rights or entitlements; and how many of those systems have publicly available equality impact assessments or data protection impact assessments or both.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer provided by the other House on 21st July to question UIN 194005.
Automated decision making in Government is compliant with provisions in GDPR and the Data Protection Act, which includes the right for a data subject to request “a new decision that is not based solely on automated processing”.
The Government has an Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework for Automated Decision-Making.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the six algorithmic transparency reports published under the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, how many automated decision-making tools are currently used by public authorities that have not submitted reports under the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard; and what steps they are taking, or intend to take, to increase compliance with that Standard.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government has made transparency around automated decision-making a priority through the publication of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS).
The ATRS is a maturing standard which is being progressively promoted and adopted across the public sector. It is still evolving alongside policy thinking and government understanding of the complexities, scope, and risks around its use. Enshrining the Standard into law at this point of maturity might hinder the ability to ensure it remains relevant in a rapidly developing technology field. We remain committed to reevaluating our position on legislative change in the future, once the policy and the Standard have matured further.
While the government currently has no comprehensive view of the full range of automated decision-making tools currently used by public authorities, several steps have been taken to increase compliance with the Standard in the absence of legislation. The ATRS has been endorsed by the government’s Data Standards Authority. Since its publication, it has been piloted with a variety of public sector organisations across the UK and the published records can be openly accessed via GOV.UK. It is currently being rolled out more widely across the public sector with a view to embedding it into internal governance processes and increasing compliance.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their White Paper A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March, and following the introduction of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, what assessment they have made of the case for statutory transparency obligations for public sector use of automated decision-making.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government has made transparency around automated decision-making a priority through the publication of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS).
The ATRS is a maturing standard which is being progressively promoted and adopted across the public sector. It is still evolving alongside policy thinking and government understanding of the complexities, scope, and risks around its use. Enshrining the Standard into law at this point of maturity might hinder the ability to ensure it remains relevant in a rapidly developing technology field. We remain committed to reevaluating our position on legislative change in the future, once the policy and the Standard have matured further.
While the government currently has no comprehensive view of the full range of automated decision-making tools currently used by public authorities, several steps have been taken to increase compliance with the Standard in the absence of legislation. The ATRS has been endorsed by the government’s Data Standards Authority. Since its publication, it has been piloted with a variety of public sector organisations across the UK and the published records can be openly accessed via GOV.UK. It is currently being rolled out more widely across the public sector with a view to embedding it into internal governance processes and increasing compliance.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 2 March (HL5901), and the Written Statement by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 23 May (HLWS788), whether the sharing of identity information in bulk would be lawful under the text of the statutory instrument as consulted on; and whether, and if so where, the published consultation response confirms whether changes have been made to prohibit bulk sharing following the consultation.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The statutory instrument, as consulted on, is an enabling instrument that will make it easier for people to prove who they are when accessing government services online. The draft regulations only allow specified public bodies to share data when an individual chooses to prove their identity online in order to access public services digitally.
As a specified objective under section 35 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (the Act), the data sharing power would sit within the tightly constrained data sharing framework of the Act. Data sharing must be carried out with regard to the Act’s Code of Practice (the Code), which has been approved by Parliament. Any public body sharing information under Chapters 1, 3 and 4 of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 is required to have regard to this Code when doing so.
Under the Code's data sharing principles, public bodies sharing information under the powers are required to minimise the amount of data shared, and ensure this is the minimum required for the purpose of achieving the specified objective, using methods which avoid unnecessarily sharing or copying of large amounts of personal information. Failure to have regard to the Code can result in a public authority or organisation losing the ability to disclose, receive and use information under the powers.
Due to the carefully defined data sharing power set out in the statutory instrument, and the rigorous data protection safeguards in place under the Act and Code, no changes have been made to the draft statutory instrument regarding “bulk sharing”.