Dec 03, 2020
Reference:
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/570/data-transparency-and-accountability-covid-19/publications/written-evidence/
Click to read the full report here
The Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted how important data is to Government for decision making, and the significance of data transparency for the public and Parliament in holding Government to account.
This inquiry will focus on decision making and transparency in response to Covid 19, using this as a case study to draw out recommendations that can be applied more broadly.
In July the Prime Minister announced that “responsibility for government use of data has transferred from the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to the Cabinet Office. DCMS will retain responsibility for data policy for the economy and society. This change will help ensure that government data is used most effectively to drive policy making and service delivery.”
The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated the critical role that data plays in informing policy, developing strategy and understanding performance. Measures designed to contain the spread of infection, including localised lockdowns and region-specific self-isolation for people entering the UK, require accurate and up-to-date data to be effective.
In this new inquiry, the Committee will investigate how well the Government has collected and utilised data during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will investigate how data has informed decision making and if it was of sufficient quality to enable effective policy making.
The inquiry will also examine how well understood published Covid-19 data is by those scrutinising Government policy, including parliamentarians, journalists and the wider public, and what more can be done to improve understanding. (https://committees.parliament.uk/work/570/data-transparency-and-accountability-covid-19/)