Identity data sharing underpins Tony Blair plan to save $16B with data synchronization

The UK could see returns of up to £13 billion (US$16.4 billion) per year from linking data from different public agencies in the National Data Library (NDL), according to a new report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Last year, the Labour government unveiled plans to bring data from different public bodies, government departments and institutions under a National Data Library that would help deliver data-driven public services and support research. Since then, however, little has been released about the initiative.

In a report published last week, the Tony Blair Institute in collaboration with the Entrepreneurs Network think tank gave their own vision of how the project could work by making use of digital identity.

“Effective data integration across central and local government depends on harmonised personal identifiers,” the 63-page report says.

“[The National Data Library] can help create the infrastructure needed to unlock the value of public-sector data alongside frameworks to identify and collect new types of data for breakthrough insights.”

Integrating National Health Service (NHS) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data, for instance, could help create return-to-work programs.

But “applications requiring precision,” including “personalized interventions,” would require a unique personal identifier that is interoperable across departments, unlike NHS numbers and national insurance numbers.

“An initial investment of £200 million to enhance data linking could generate £1 billion in benefits in the first instance,” the analysis states. “As the NDL expands, reinvesting these returns could create a self-sustaining model, delivering up to £13 billion per year once fully scaled.”

The report explains that the project should establish a secure way to access linked data sets, including avoiding data centralization. Aside from data sharing, the library would also support evidence-based policymaking as well as integrate with the AI Research Resource (AIRR), the UK’s national AI supercomputing infrastructure.

DUA Bill continues to invite debates on transgender rights

While grand plans are being made for the National Data Library, the UK government is also trying to navigate delicate questions about sex and gender data and transgender rights. For some services, the unique personal identifier that enables data sharing would not have to include the subject’s sex. For others, it might, meaning discrepancies between datasets held by different government systems would have to be dealt with.

The country is currently debating new legislation for digital verification services called the Data (Use and Access) Bill which aims to digitize key public registries. However, introducing ambiguous and wrong data related to sex and gender could lead to a “tragic mix of personal suffering and public waste” similar to the Post Office scandal, according to Conservative Party Politician Lord Arbuthnot.

“All personal data can be kept private in some situations,” Arbuthnot argues. “But accurate data is also routinely needed in everyday situations such as healthcare, sport, law enforcement and single-sex services, both to ensure that everyone is treated appropriately and to keep people safe.”

Wrong data on sex could lead to wrong medical diagnosis or sending a man who identifies as a woman to provide intimate care to an elderly or disabled woman. Contradictions in government sources could also lead a person to be automatically flagged as a “synthetic data” risk, locking them out of public services, says Arbuthnot.

The opinion was published in a foreword to a report published by advocacy organization Sex Matters. The controversial gender-critical group has been campaigning against citizens choosing their gender and removing sex-based terms in healthcare and the justice system.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, on the other hand, has argued that changes would breach human rights law and force public authorities to share excessive amounts of data, according to The Times.

Currently, transgender people in the UK may legally alter their sex, including their biometric residence card, driving license and NHS record. Obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) also allows them to change their birth certificate and their sex marker with HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Article Topics

Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA)  |  data privacy  |  data sharing  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  identity management  |  Tony Blair Institute  |  UK