Public services in the UK are drowning in data but starved of actionable insight. Our data infrastructure is fragmented and unfit for purpose, which means valuable public sector data go underutilised. Labour’s manifesto commitment to build a National Data Library (NDL) could change that, however, making public data faster and easier to access and use. But for it to actually work, it needs more than just good intentions – it needs a clear vision and a solid plan.
This week, in a joint paper – Governing in the Age of AI: Building Britain’s National Data Library – our Head of Science and Technology Anastasia Bektimirova together with co-authors from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change delivered that detailed plan.
They leave nothing to chance, setting out in detail what needs to be done in the short, medium and long term. Getting this right would represent a transformative upgrade in the relationship between government and its citizens, while unlocking innovation opportunities for academia and businesses.
In academia, the NDL could revolutionise medical research by enabling scientists to assess treatment effectiveness more rapidly through NHS and social care records. Environmental researchers, meanwhile, could integrate air-pollution and health data to develop more effective public health interventions. By providing seamless and secure access to vital information, the NDL would empower researchers to tackle pressing societal challenges with greater precision and speed.
In the private sector, the NDL could fuel R&D. Startups and established firms alike could benefit from streamlined access to high-quality data sets, reducing the time and resources currently wasted navigating complex bureaucratic processes. This could, for example, help edtech companies build more effective personalised learning platforms.
In government, the NDL could improve policy design by enabling better data-sharing between Whitehall – for instance facilitating closer collaboration between HMRC, the NHS, and the Department for Work and Pensions to identify health-related barriers to employment and shape more effective welfare policies. Local councils, too, could use the NDL to deliver better public services, proactively identifying at-risk families and intervening before crises escalate. By streamlining data access while maintaining security and privacy, the NDL would enable smarter decision-making across the public and private sectors.
The paper offers over 40 detailed recommendations to make the NDL a reality. Among my favourites is to have dedicated National Data Librarians within government departments. Collectively, they would act as cross-government advisers who ensure data is accessible and aligned with real-world needs. Another great recommendation is that the UK should introduce a unique personal identifier to enable accurate data linkages across public services, following successful models from Estonia and Finland where such identifiers have transformed digital government while strengthening citizens’ control over their data.
The paper paints the NDL not as a giant data lake centralising all government data in one place. Instead, it should enable secure, federated access while ensuring departments retain control over their own data. It won’t function as a commercial marketplace selling government data, but rather as a facilitator of responsible and ethical use of public-sector information. The NDL’s true value lies in transforming data access by making it easier, faster, and more secure to link and use government data while standardising and simplifying data-sharing processes.
Entrepreneurs’ ingenuity will be critical to ensuring that the NDL’s full potential is realised – but first the Government needs to get on with delivering on the promise in (and of) its manifesto.
Food for Thoughts
Yesterday we hosted Parmy Olson for a dinner with Fora about her bestselling book Supremacy. It tells the behind-the-scenes story of the battle between OpenAI and DeepMind, and won the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award. You can find out more and get a copy of Supremacy here.
We’re busy planning our next Fora dinner. If you’re an Adviser, drop me an email with the names of who you’re keen to hear from.
As you’ll see below, we’ve got a lot of events planned and have just brought on a new team member to help us keep up with the demand. This is a roundabout way of suggesting: now’s the time to join us as a Supporter or Adviser to ensure you can come to as many of these as you want, while supporting our efforts to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. It only takes a few clicks.
Tiny Experiments
On the theme of books, Adviser to the network Anne-Laure Le Cunff, has one out: Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. In this transformative book, neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure reveals the easier, proven method to achieve our ambitions: an experimental mindset.
You can find out more and get Tiny Experiments here. Anne-Laure’s also hosting an experimental supper club on the evening of the 18 March, which you can buy tickets for here.