The Government is committed to safe and responsible data sharing across the public sector to improve public service delivery across the country. The consultation on expanding the information sharing powers for public service delivery in Part 5 (chapter one) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 to support education-related passported benefits and energy debt relief measures closed on the 23rd of September 2025. The Government response will be published in due course to allow for further policy consideration and assessment of any wider implications.

The Digital Economy Act 2017 requires all persons who are involved in disclosing or using information under the public service delivery, debt and fraud powers to have due regard to the Code of Practice for public authorities disclosing information under Chapters 1, 3 and 4 (Public Service Delivery, Debt and Fraud) of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 in so far as they are relevant, when they disclose or use information under these powers.

It is also a legal requirement for many organisations including government bodies and agencies that process personal data, to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office in accordance with the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 unless they are exempt.

The Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA) contains data sharing powers that allow specified authorities to share information, including personal data, for specific purposes. Anyone sharing information under Chapters 1- 4 of Part 5 of the DEA is required to have regard to the relevant Code of Practice when doing so. This states that those authorities, listed in schedules 4-8 and Chapter 2 of the DEA, should enter an information sharing agreement (ISA) when sharing data under these powers.

The codes of practice provide details to practitioners on how information sharing powers under the DEA must be operated. Those relating to public service delivery (PSD), debt and fraud and civil registration place a requirement on the Data Controller(s) to set out information about their ISA within a publicly available register.

The register, operated by Government Digital Service (GDS) and publicly available on GOV.UK, provides a central repository of all data shares made under the powers provided by Chapters 1 - 4 of Part 5 of the DEA. It is a key transparency measure which outlines details of each data share, including the bodies involved, why it is shared, for how long and the expected benefits.

The register currently contains 525 entries and 464 public bodies. It is available at https://www.digital-economy-act-register.data.gov.uk.

While GDS is responsible for maintaining the register, the DEA’s statutory Code of Practice makes clear that responsibility for the accuracy of register entries rests with the public authorities involved in each data share, except in relation to the debt and fraud provisions, where responsibility falls under the debt and fraud secretariat.

HMRC has met the Digital Economy Act (2017) Statutory Code of Practice transparency requirement by recording information on data sharing between the two departments (Home Office and HMRC) on the Register of Information sharing agreements under Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

HMRC’s Privacy Notice makes clear that it collects information from other Government Departments to fulfil its functions, which include administration of the Child Benefit system.

Publication of the Business Case and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the data sharing are not requirements under the statutory code of practice. HMRC’s general policy is not to publish Business Cases or DPIAs because details they contain may jeopardise the outcomes sought when tackling fraud.

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 Agnew of Oulton DL

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

1 April 2025

Dear Lord Agnew,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your following Parliamentary Questions:

• To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, based on the latest approved business case, of the average cost per user of the Integrated Data Service, including a breakdown of how this cost is calculated (HL6020).

• To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the suitability of successive Senior Responsible Owners of the Integrated Data Programme having been appointed for 35 per cent and 50 per cent of their time, given its whole life cost of £525 million and "red" delivery confidence assessment rating; and what evidence they hold to show that this approach is appropriate for projects of this scale and complexity. (HL6094).

• To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether to continue to fund the Integrated Data Programme at its whole life cost of £525 million, given its "red" delivery confidence assessment rating and the 26 per cent reduction in forecast monetised benefits between 2022–23 and 2023–24 (HL6095).

• To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the Office for National Statistics’ Integrated Data Service has undergone an accreditation assessment or audit under the Digital Economy Act 2017 since 2020, and what the results of such assessments or audits have been (HL6096).

The Integrated Data Programme (IDP) Business Case is being reviewed as part of Spending Review 2025. From when the Integrated Data Service (IDS) is fully operational, the current estimate of the average gross cost per user accessing the IDS is approximately £4,645 per year over the financial years 2026/2027 to 2028/2029. This cost is calculated by including the service support costs for users, the IT licensing and usage costs, and the platform operational management costs.

The current Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) has dedicated substantially more than 50% of their time to the Integrated Data Programme. The "red" delivery confidence assessment rating primarily relates to obtaining data owner permission for analysis, as highlighted in numerous other reports . Significant progress is being made in unblocking data flows, however senior sponsorship is still required to fully realise the benefits of mission delivery. We’re now making good progress in obtaining that sponsorship.

The annual cost of the service is now low. The majority of the expenditure has been invested in building infrastructure that is also used for other core ONS business and it is now ready for use.

Future funding of the IDP is under consideration as part of Spending Review 2025, the outcome of which will not be announced until 11 June 2025. All Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) programmes are subject to an Accounting Officer assessment as part of established governance procedures.

The IDS was accredited under the Digital Economy Act (2017) in September 2023. The accreditation of the IDS under the DEA was reviewed after 12 months, in September 2024.

During the development of the platform prior to September 2023, the IDS was audited by the UKSA Research Accreditation Panel to establish the readiness of the IDS for DEA accreditation. These audits occurred in February 2023 and June 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

1For further details, you can refer to the Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority by Professor Denise Lievesley CBE and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee: Transforming the UK’s Evidence Base report.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences covering the time period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.

No convictions specifically for an offence under Schedule 1, Part 11, Paragraph 75(5) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 have been recorded within the court proceedings database held centrally.

We will publish the annual assessment for 2023 following its presentation to the Public Service Delivery (PSD) Review Board and subsequent Ministerial approval.

The current public service delivery powers of the Digital Economy Act have been operational since 2018. The powers enable public authorities to respond quickly and effectively to complex problems, improve citizens' well-being and improve access to public services.

It has previously not been the practice for assessments to be presented in the form of a written report. Instead, the relevant Minister has received oral briefings in relation to the activities of the PSD Review Board, including relevant information on the use of the public service delivery data sharing powers. The PSD Review Board monitors the efficacy of the Digital Economy Act 2017 as a whole, including the effectiveness of the Chapter 1, Part 5 data sharing powers. The terms of reference and quarterly minutes are published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/digital-economy-act-public-service-delivery-review-board

Ministers were also informed of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) review of the data sharing powers under Part 5 of the DEA (March 2023 - https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/documents/4024606/ico-review-dea-20230314.pdf). This review addresses the commitment made during the passage of the legislation that the ICO would look at the powers around 3 years after they became operational.