Data, Missions and a New Labour Government

The UK has a new Labour Government with an outsized majority and a clear focus through its five missions:

1. Kickstart economic growth - to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 – with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.
2. Make Britain a clean energy superpower - to cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero.
3. Take back our streets - by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels.
4. Break down barriers to opportunity - by reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain.
5. Build an NHS fit for the future - that is there when people need it; with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers; in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer.

As Keir Starmer said in his first words from Downing Street "belief in a better future" can only be delivered "through actions not words". So what role will data play in enabling actions not words? How will data help kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, take back our streets, break down barriers to opportunity and build a NHS fit for the future?

Kickstarting Economic Growth

Let's start with economic growth. It's clear that data-driven companies are becoming increasingly important and prevalent. Look at the world's most valuable companies - whether it’s the FTSE, the S&P500 or the Hang Seng - data-driven companies dominate.

Some use data to manage and improve their operations. Consider companies like Amazon, Uber and AirBnB, who rely on data to ensure markets operate seamlessly - matching people to products, cars and properties respectively.

Others provide the software and hardware that enable people to use data - think Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia.

Some provide the infrastructure on which digital systems are built (think Broadcom, ASML and KLA).

Still others provide analytics and consulting services that help organisations make better use of data (think IBM, Oracle and Alteryx).

Wherever you look data driven companies are on the rise and even traditional, well-established business are seeking to digitalise. There's no doubt that data will play a fundamental role in kickstarting economic growth. And so a fundamental question for the new government is how do we make the UK the best place to start and operate a data-driven business? What rules and regulations need to be changed? What skills need to be enhanced? What role can public data play in enabling private sector activity??

What about the other missions - make Britain a clean energy superpower, take back our streets, break down barriers to opportunity and build a NHS fit for the future? Arguably data will play a central role in each of these.?

Smart meters allow consumers to compare their energy consumption with other families - providing valuable benchmarking insights that allow you to see whether you are being too profligate with your energy consumption. Wind pattern data can be used to determine the optimum location for wind turbines. While sensor and remote monitoring data can be used to optimise maintenance schedules and maximise turbine output.

Crime statistics, coupled with geo-location data, can identify crime hotspots. Data on free schools meals can be used by Universities seeking to meet widening participation targets. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can be used in tumour and health screening. Electronic patient records ensure health data flows with patients, creating more joined up health services, while also providing potentially valuable research data.

Wherever you look, you realise data plays a central role. Arguably data is a foundational resource, that has potential to positively impact delivery and execution of services across the whole of the public and private sector.?

With so much opportunity the challenge is how to prioritise - how to decide which of the possible data projects are the best ones to start with. Which will deliver the greatest value quickly?

At Anmut we believe that to answer this question - where should we focus our data efforts - we need to understand two things: (i) the condition of data assets, and (ii) the value potential of data assets. With these two pieces of information it becomes so much easier to prioritise resource and investment.

To maximise their impact, the incoming government needs to do this systematically across the public sector. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) has already started this journey through their Essential Shared Data Assets (ESDAs) initiative, which seeks to identify the most critical data assets in each department. They should go one step further. Establishing a national standard for valuing and managing?public data assets would make the UK a global pioneer in technology enablement, signalling the seriousness of its digital agenda, and setting the country up to make the most of new technologies.