Local authorities must re-examine how they use data

Councils are not taking full advantage of the data they collect

Local authorities in Wales are not using the data that they collect, or are forced to only use it in one way due to their siloed infrastructure. Data management is poor, and a new approach is needed.

These are the conclusions of a new report by the auditor general for Wales, Adrian Crompton, titled ‘The maturity of local government in use of data', which concludes that few councils are deriving full value from the data they hold.

‘We found that local authorities are not taking advantage of the massive amounts of data they collect to operate as efficiently and as effectively as possible', says the report. ‘Too often, services and teams hold information in silos and use it for a single purpose.

‘Because authorities lack corporate data standards, duplication of information is common and integration of data often poor. Consequently, the potential for reusing data can be overlooked'.

By making better use of data, local authorities will be able to become more efficient; gain insight into their working practices; improve service levels; and move from a reactive to a preventative model.

Crompton's report identifies four barriers standing in the way of appropriate use of data: it is risky sharing data with other public bodies; there is no system focused on reusing and adding value to data; local authorities lack the skills to use data to its full potential; and the public do not trust authorities to manage and use data.

The report recommends that local authorities set out a clear vision for their use of data, creating a culture where all employees think about it differently. Training is vital to teach staff how to safely and efficiently handle data and use it to drive decision-making.