The pandemic has again highlighted the role of high-quality data in enabling effective service delivery, monitoring and improvement. For example, due to missing or inaccurate telephone numbers within NHS patient records, the shielding programme was unable to follow-up letters to 375,000 vulnerable people with phone calls. Local authorities, which were passed the details of individuals who could not be reached, struggled with inaccurate contact information. Difficulties sharing data also hinde...

The pandemic has again highlighted the role of high-quality data in enabling effective service delivery, monitoring and improvement. For example, due to missing or inaccurate telephone numbers within NHS patient records, the shielding programme was unable to follow-up letters to 375,000 vulnerable people with phone calls. Local authorities, which were passed the details of individuals who could not be reached, struggled with inaccurate contact information. Difficulties sharing data also hindered local authorities’ ability to understand and manage outbreaks.29 We received written evidence from the British Medical Association, which told us tha Type: conclusion | Number: 13 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the