• The UK’s largest independent producer of 
       official statistics and the recognised 
       national statistical institute of the UK. 
      • Responsible for collecting and publishing 
       statistics related to the economy, 
       population and society at national, regional 
       and local levels. 
      • Plays a leading role in national and 
       international good practice in the 
       production of official statistics.
       Strategy 
                                                                          3
Legislation to overcome barriers
   Structural factors
    • Legislation itself – Information Sharing Orders were restrictive and time-
     consuming
    • Minimize respondent burden by using administrative data
    • ↓ survey response rates
   Cultural factors
    • Culture of risk-aversion towards data sharing 
    • Data sharing seen to be of secondary importance.
    • Driven by doubts about the public acceptability of data sharing.
     Nudges
                                                                                          “primary legislation 
                                “The UK significantly lags                                should be sought to 
                                many other advanced                                       provide a generic legal 
                                economies in its exploitation                             gateway for research 
                                of administrative data … This                             and statistical purposes 
                                reflects both the cumbersome                              that enables efficient 
                                nature of the present legal                               access to, and linkage 
                                framework governing the                                   between, 
                                sharing of such data and a                                administrative data 
                                cultural reluctance on the part                           held by different 
                                of some departments and                                   government 
                                officials to data sharing.”                               departments, agencies 
                                                                                          and other statutory 
                                                                                          bodies.”