PACAC initiates an investigation into UK government’s use of data

The UK’s Parliamentary Committee for Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (PACAC) has launched an investigation into data collection and analysis by the government and public bodies. This comes in response to the increasing number of data sources and recommendations from the Office for National Statistics regarding population statistics. PACAC claimed it will look at how civil servants effectively utilize the vast amount of available data for decision and policy-making while also exploring opportunities for potential reform of the existing system. Chair of PACAC, William Wragg MP, stated that the investigation will examine how statisticians and analysts can derive relevant conclusions from the massive amounts of data generated daily. The investigation will also look into the opportunities and risks of new data sources, ethical applications, and the efficacy of existing privacy safeguards.