3.13 GDS established a data team to improve infrastructure around data, develop policy and promote open data. It also supported the drafting of provisions in the Digital Economy Bill to support better data sharing. GDS created a role of Chief Data Officer for government in March 2015. This role disappeared in August 2015; however, the government announced a new role in the recently published Government Transformation Strategy. GDS has also worked with other organisations, such as the Office for National Statistics, to build capabilities in analytics across government.
3.14 Many important and difficult aspects of data use still need to be addressed. We recently reported on weaknesses in data and information security.20 While GDS has concentrated on developing 'registers' (canonical lists, such as countries or local authority areas), there is little strategic overview of the data needs of departments and no common view of how best to assess privacy concerns, consent and security (Figure 9).
3.15 In the new Government Transformation Strategy, GDS has restated the importance of using data to support transformation in government. Departments have told us they would welcome central support for their underlying data problems and use of data for new services. It is not yet clear how GDS plans to take forward its work in this area.
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20 Comptroller and Auditor General, Protecting information across government, Session 2016-17, HC 625, National Audit Office, September 2016.