The Ministry of Justice is linking its court, prison, and probation records with health, education, and welfare data from other government departments to track what happens to vulnerable people who cycle through multiple public services. This matters because the government collects vast amounts of data when people interact with services—but rarely joins those records together. As a result, policymakers cannot see, for example, whether someone leaving prison ends up in hospital or homeless, or whether a child in care later enters the justice system. Without that linked picture, policies and interventions are designed in the dark. If Data First succeeds, it will give researchers and decision-makers a robust evidence base to target support at the people with the most complex needs. That could mean earlier interventions, better allocation of resources across health, housing, and justice, and ultimately improved outcomes for the most vulnerable—without anyone having to fill in a new form. The project is not fundamental science; it is a practical infrastructure for evidence-based policy.
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ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. The most vulnerable people in our society have complex and multiple needs. They are likely to interact with a range of public services, from health and social care; housing and welfare; to the justice system. Whilst the government collects a large amount of data as the public interacts with these services, it is vastly underused. Understanding these populations, their needs, and how they interact with public services over time is vital if we are to improve outcomes. Robust data is central to this, and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has committed to using it more effectively to enhance the evidence for policy and practice. Through Data First, a pioneering data linkage and academic engagement programme launched in 2019, MoJ has set the precedent across government in using innovation to tackle these issues and unlock the potential of the data we hold. This has been made possible by a significant investment by ADR UK. Data First will enable us to accelerate the sharing of justice data with other departments, to enhance our understanding of the relationship between users’ interactions with the justice system and their outcomes across a range of public services, including health, education and welfare. Enhancing this understanding is crucial to the better targeting of policies, interventions and services.
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