Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for HMRC Datalab.

The HMRC Datalab has been an important element of HMRC’s transparency agenda since 2012, allowing external researchers access to de-identified tax data to answer significant questions about the tax system and the economy.

The Datalab is currently fully funded by HMRC. Options for expanding the capacity of the Datalab to meet anticipated future demand are currently being reviewed by HMRC, while ensuring that the personal information held is suitably protected in line with all relevant data protection legislation. As part of this review, HMRC are assessing funding options, which include the Chancellor’s next spending review allocation to the department, as well as external research council support.