Guidance

The Single Data List: a guide

Updated 27 November 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/single-data-list/the-single-data-list-a-guide

This guide is aimed at colleagues who want to request new data or change existing data from local authorities and will also be useful for new members/chairs of the Central and Local Government Information Partnership (CLIP) sub-groups.

What is the Singla Data List?

The Single Data List (SDL) is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

The Single Data List is a catalogue that lists all datasets that local government is required to submit to central government. The list is reviewed and updated annually.

The Single Data List is The Single Data List is not
a catalogue of datasets a database of the data collected
covers local government a list of publications from those collections (although there will be some overlap)
list of data collections required by central government any data outside that provided by local government

The purpose of the List is to facilitate transparency, eliminate duplication, and minimise data reporting burdens on local authorities. All new data proposals or amendments to existing data collections must be cleared by the Single Data List Gateway Group before they can be added to the Single Data List. All data proposals must also be considered under the New Burdens Doctrine to ensure that the net additional cost of all new burdens placed on local authorities by central government is assessed and fully funded. Annex A provides further details about data collection by government.

What data requests need to go through the Single Data List process?

Any data request by central government of local government needs to be approved through the SDL process. The rationale for any data collection must be transparent and only the minimum amount of data should be collected to meet that requirement. Local authorities should be given 6 months’ notice prior to the changes being implemented.

Central government may reasonably require data from local authorities for the following reasons (known as the ‘6 key principles’):

  1. To fulfil international obligations
  2. To support the effective administration of funding. Clarity is important in highlighting where data are being used as proxies (for example, free school meals being used as a proxy for need)
  3. To support accountability to Parliament for national public funds and national policy decisions
  4. To hold public services to account, at a national level – holding government to account for national delivery
  5. To support the evaluation of economic, social, and environmental trends, in the national interest
  6. To provide comparable local performance data, by exception, where it doesn’t already exist, to support local accountability by citizens

Data requests that are exempt from the SDL process are: 

  1. Voluntary data returns: Local authorities can decide whether they wish to participate. It should be explicitly stated that their participation is voluntary. The Gateway Group suggests this text: “This data collection is not part of the Single Data List, and so completion is voluntary. Councils are encouraged to participate to ensure data robustness, but it is up to each Council to decide.”
  2. Grant/programme data: Data required when applying for or participating in a specific grant, project, or programme.
  3. Non-role related returns: Returns not directly related to their role as local authorities, for example, as an employer. (For these exclusions, the data provision requirement will be specified by the relevant body elsewhere as appropriate.)
  4. Ad hoc requests: Data required in exceptional circumstances.
  5. Locally published data: Data required to be published locally for accountability but not submitted to central government, for example, under the Local Government Transparency Code of Recommended Practice. This will need new burdens funding and would benefit from discussion with the CLIP sub-groups to ensure data quality and comparability.

If you are unsure about whether your data request is exempt or not, email SingleDataList@communities.gov.uk for advice.

Who are Gateway Group and CLIP sub-groups?

The Gateway Group governs the process of adopting changes to the Single Data List, ensuring new data requirements are necessary, fully funded, minimally burdensome, and meet at least 1 of the 6 data principles. It is co-chaired by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and a local government representative.

The Gateway Group is accountable to both the Director General (Local Government) of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Executive Director of the Local Government Association.

The CLIP sub-groups support the Gateway Group by assessing data requirements from across government. CLIP sub-groups bring together data suppliers, compilers, and users. Each sub-group, in their area of specialism, considers and challenges new data requirements, helps calculate the likely burden on data providers, authorises data proposals for submission to the Gateway Group, and reviews ongoing data collections.

All changes to data collections should be discussed and cleared by CLIP sub-groups before going to the Gateway Group for approval.

(The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Local Government Association jointly provides secretarial support for the Gateway Group. The department responsible for each CLIP sub-group’s subject area provides secretarial functions for that sub-group.)

The CLIP sub-groups deal with the following policy areas:

  • Finance
  • Environment
  • Housing
  • Fire and rescue
  • Labour Market
  • Planning -Transport
  • Adult social care (the Department of Health and Social Care’s ‘Adult Social Care Data - Outcomes Board’)
  • Children’s services, including education (the Department for Education’s ‘Star Chamber’)

How to request a new or changed data item or data collection to the Single Data List

To submit a new or changed data item to the Single Data List, these are the steps you should follow.

Preparation

1. Consider whether your data collection is really necessary:

  • Does the data (or similar) already exist?
  • Could a smaller sample or specific research project provide the information?
  • How often does the data need to be collected?
  • Could collection be voluntary, rather than mandating through the SDL?
  • Are you collecting only the items you require? Or does it include ‘nice to know’ items?
  • Do the benefits of the data to users outweigh the costs to data providers?

Check your request meets at least 1 of the 6 data principles and isn’t covered by the exemptions listed above.

2. Have an initial discussion of your proposal at the relevant a CLIP sub-group to test out issues and practicalities, to understand the burdens and make necessary adjustments.

This is to ensure that the proposal is reviewed and challenged and to ensure that the data collection is fit for purpose. It also helps local authorities to have the required 6 months’ notice of new data requirements.

If there is no appropriate CLIP sub-group, contact singledatalist@communities.gov.uk for advice on an alternative process for challenge.

3. Get an assessment of the collection burdens from local authorities – this is required for the New Burdens assessment.

Approvals process

4. Submit your SDL proposal for full consideration and sign-off by the CLIP sub-group using the Gateway Group Top Sheet. Both a central and local government representative on the CLIP sub-group must sign off the SDL Form.

5. Complete the New Burdens Funding assessment form.

Contact the New Burdens Unit at MHCLG (newburdens@communities.gov.uk) to confirm the funding needed for local authorities to deliver the proposed changes. Allow the team at least 10 working days to review.

Failure to provide either of these will delay the Gateway Group decision

6. Submit the cleared proposal to the Gateway Group. Once the proposal is accepted by the CLIP sub-group, and the funding position agreed, submit the proposal using the SDL Form and New Burdens Assessment form to the Gateway Group via SingleDataList@communities.gov.uk.

7. The Gateway Group will decide whether to accept the proposal based on the CLIP sub-Group recommendation and the new burdens assessment. Please allow 20 working days for the group to review. If the proposal hasn’t been reviewed by the relevant CLIP sub-Group and the New Burdens Unit, it will be returned for you to complete those parts (in the rare occurrence that the Gateway Group cannot decide on a new data requirement, the case can be referred to the Director General and the Executive Director). The decision of the Gateway Group will be conveyed to the you and CLIP sub-group.

Once approved, the data collection or changes will be included in the Single Data List published in March for data to be collected in the Financial Year starting in the April.

Once collected, data should be published as quickly as possible. If data is important enough to be required from councils, central government should allocate enough resources to process the data in a reasonable time.

As part of their challenge, CLIP sub-groups may consider:

  • Existing data evaluation: Has there been an assessment of existing data sources before starting a new collection?
  • Justifiable collections: Have these been padded with nice-to-know information?
  • Sampling approach: Can a sampling approach be adopted instead of complete coverage?
  • Supplier discussions: Have discussions occurred with administrative system suppliers for central changes?
  • Review programme: Is there a rolling programme to review existing returns over a certain period?

When the Gateway Group receives a request to modify the Single Data List, they will want to ensure the proposal for adding or changing data align with these principles:

  • Burden size: Is the new burden funding sufficient to cover it?
  • Consultation breadth: Does the new burdens form show appropriate consultation with local authorities?
  • Data meaningfulness: Are the collected data useful both centrally and locally?
  • Local usefulness: If not useful locally, central government must strongly justify its importance.
  • Crucial or nice-to-know: If it’s not demonstrably crucial, it’s presumed that it cannot be justified.
  • Mandatory collection: Why must the information be collected mandatorily instead of voluntarily?
  • Effective challenge: Is there evidence of an effective challenge through the CLIP sub-group process?

These principles apply equally when local authorities report data to non-central government bodies at the request of the central government.

Further information

Analytical Heads of Profession Office, MHCLG
Email: SingleDataList@communities.gov.uk

Roopal Shah, Analyst, Research and Information, LGA
Phone: 020 7664 3181
Email: roopal.shah@local.gov.uk

Annex A: data collection by government

Public sector data is a valuable asset that is necessary for the effective management of services and to inform accountability structures. It can empower citizens by helping them make informed choices and hold service providers to account. However, the process of data collection, analysis, and publication can be burdensome.

The government’s policy is to minimise the data reporting burdens on councils, reflecting the accountability landscape and the financial pressures facing councils. The principles that should underpin decisions on the appropriateness of mandatory data collections are set out below.

The rationale for any data collection must be transparent and only the minimum amount of data should be collected to meet that requirement. Central government may reasonably require data from local councils for several reasons (the 6 key principles):

  1. To fulfil international obligations
  2. To support the effective administration of funding. Clarity is important in highlighting where data are being used as proxies (for example, free school meals being used as a proxy for need)
  3. To support accountability to Parliament for national public funds and national policy decisions
  4. To hold public services to account, at a national level – holding government to account for national delivery
  5. To support the evaluation of economic, social, and environmental trends, in the national interest
  6. To provide comparable local performance data, by exception, where it doesn’t already exist, in order to support local accountability by citizens

The MHCLG Permanent Secretary is required to provide assurance to Parliament that a core accountability system is in place for local government. Accessible and comparable local performance data is a key part of this system; allowing the public to hold authorities to account more effectively.

Where councils are under a national statutory duty to provide data, they must continue to do so. However, in assessing the reasonableness of a data requirement, central government should not consider the presence of a statutory duty to be a justification for continued collection.

The government has a role in ensuring openness and transparency of public data more broadly. Freedom of Information gives people the right to ask for information held by a public body on any subject. The principles of data collection and publication should apply to the whole public sector. This means the central government should be as transparent as local authorities when publishing data.

Annex B: joint chairs of the CLIP sub-groups

Adult Social Care - Data Outcomes Board

Census

Education and Children’s Social Care - Star Chamber

Environment

Finance

Fire

Housing

Labour market

  • Central Government Chair: Debra Leaker (ONS) Debra.Leaker@ons.gov.uk
  • Local Government Chair: Undecided (elected in meeting)

Planning

Population

Transport

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