Digital Economy Act (2017)

Number: WG33674

Proposed List of Data Sharing bodies in Wales

April 2019

Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg.

This document is also available in Welsh.

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Introduction

The Digital Economy Act (2017) introduced new information and data sharing powers for

public bodies. These new powers are intended to help support the effective delivery of public

services, as well as to identify and tackle fraud against, and debts owed to, the public sector.

For a public body to be able to use these new powers, they need to be named in the

Schedules to the Act itself. Additionally, to use the new powers in support of the delivery of

public services to individuals and households, the public body must also be named against a

specific objective which will be set out in separate regulations. The UK Government has laid

new regulations which will set out four initial objectives for the public service delivery powers:

Multiple Disadvantages, Television Retuning, Fuel Poverty and Water Poverty.

Between December 2017 and January 2018 we asked for views on which devolved, Welsh

public bodies should be included in the Schedules to the Act, and which of those bodies

should be named for each of the four objectives that have been defined by the UK

Government. At the same time, we asked for views on what objectives Welsh Ministers could

consider setting in the future, and for thoughts on how the new powers could be used to

support and promote the use of the Welsh Language.

This document summarises the main themes in the responses we received, and explains what

we have already done, and plan to do in the future, as a result of the feedback we received.

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1. Summary of responses

25 responses were received in total, as follows:

 17 Welsh public authorities (including 4 Welsh NHS Boards);

 2 voluntary organisations (1 UK, one Welsh);

 4 other organisations, and

 2 individuals

All bar two of the 25 responses received were from organisations or individuals based, or

largely based, in Wales.

Responses were also received from both the Information Commissioner’s Welsh Office and

on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.

2. Method

The consultation document and the response form were accessible via the Welsh

Government consultations website.

Public bodies across Wales were contacted by Welsh Government to encourage them to

respond to the consultation. Welsh Government’s Chief Digital Officer also published a short

blog post on the consultation encouraging interested bodies and individuals to respond.

As part of this process, Welsh Government brought the consultation to the attention of the

following statutory consultees as required by the Digital Economy Act 2017:

 The Ministers for the Cabinet Office;

 The Information Commissioner;

 The Scottish Ministers;

 The Commissioners for Her Majesties Revenue and Customs; and

 The Department for Finance in Northern Ireland

After the consultation closed, we reviewed all of the responses received and considered all of

the suggestions for changes to what we had suggested in the consultation. These were

assessed against the definition of a public body as set out in the Digital Economy Act 2017.

We also sought advice from across Welsh Government about whether these bodies would

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have, or could use, the type(s) of data that would mean they could effectively utilise the new

data sharing powers.

The following sections summarise the responses we received and set out what changes were

made as a result.

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3. Fraud and Debt powers

The new powers in the Digital Economy Act will allow certain public bodies to share data with

each other to help identify and tackle fraud against the public sector, and to identify and deal

with debts owed to public authorities. Respondents were asked:

Question 1:

Are these the right individuals and devolved organisations to be given data sharing powers

for fraud or debt?

We received 13 responses to this question, as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 2:

Are there additional individuals or devolved organisations that could be included? Please

specify whether they would need to be included for the purposes of preventing fraud, or

identifying and managing debt.

Twelve respondents answered this question. A good number of suggestions were made to

include additional public authorities for the fraud and debt powers. The suggestions

included:

 Welsh police forces

 Health bodies

 Registered Social Landlords

Policing is not a matter which is devolved to Wales so the Welsh Ministers are not responsible

for its inclusion for these purposes. Therefore, police forces in England and Wales have not

been included in the UK schedule for these powers. We do see the potential benefit of

including the Police, particularly the fraud powers, and will consider carefully whether we

need to work with UK Government Ministers to include Police forces in the future.

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Health bodies were also suggested, particularly for the purposes of dealing with debts owed

by non-EU nationals for non-emergency treatment. As outlined in the consultation, Welsh

Government are unable to name health bodies in relation to UK objectives. A number of

health bodies also expressed concerns that sharing data in relation to debts may make

individuals reluctant to seek medical help when needed if they felt their personal information

could be shared. We recognise and agree with the concerns raised about extending the new

fraud and debt powers to health bodies, and will consider carefully any proposals to extend

the powers to health bodies in the future.

We agreed with the suggestion to include Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). For the fraud

powers, we felt that it would be helpful to include RSLs so the data they hold could be shared

with local authorities and other government departments such as DWP and HMRC in cases of

suspected fraud.

For the debt powers, we felt that in cases where individuals had multiple debts to public

bodies, it would be helpful to include RSLs to ensure that the full picture of an individual’s

debt could be properly assessed when seeking and managing repayments.

Decision

Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) were added to the schedules for both the Fraud and Debt

powers.

The following bodies were also removed from the proposed list of bodies to be given the

fraud power:

 Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales

 Qualifications Wales

 A National Park Authority

 The National Museum of Wales

This is because we felt, after further investigation, that they did not have the kind of data

required to be able to effectively use the powers.

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4. Public Service Delivery Powers

The Digital Economy Act also gives some public authorities the powers to share data to

deliver public services in relation to the following four objectives that have been defined by

UK Government – Multiple Disadvantages, Television Retuning, Fuel Poverty and Water

Poverty.

4.1 Multiple Disadvantages Objective

The new powers will enable public bodies to share data to improve the delivery of public

services to both individuals and/or households that are affected by more than one

disadvantage, such as disability, unemployment, or domestic abuse. Respondents were asked:

Question 3:

Are these the right individuals and devolved organisations to support the multiple

disadvantages objective?

The 12 respondents answered the question as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 4:

Are there additional individuals or devolved organisations that could be included for the

multiple disadvantages directive?

There were 18 responses to this question, with suggestions including:

 Welsh police forces

 Registered Social Landlords

 Fire and Rescue Authorities

 Further education colleges and universities

 Health bodies

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As policing is not a devolved matter in Wales only the UK Parliament has the ability to include

police forces. Paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 to the Digital Economy Act 2017 includes the ‘chief

officer of police for a police area in England and Wales.’ Therefore police forces in Wales will

be able to access the new powers alongside other devolved and non-devolved bodies.

A number of respondents felt that housing bodies and Registered Social Landlords could

hold valuable information on tenants about the challenges and disadvantages they face. We

agreed with this suggestion and Registered Social Landlords had already been included in

our proposed list of bodies to be named against this objective.

Fire and Rescue Authorities were also suggested however these have already been included

in the proposed list.

Many respondents felt that the exclusion of health bodies was unfortunate as they would

have valuable information to contribute to any data sharing exercise. However, Welsh

Government is unable to include health bodies for any of the public service objectives that

the UK Government has defined. Further detail about the inclusion of health bodies can be

found in Section 5.

Decision

We removed Independent Schools and special post-16 educational establishments from the

list – this is because on further consideration, these did not meet the definition of a public

authority that could be named in Schedule 4 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

We also removed National Park Authorities from the list of bodies to be named. This is

because on investigation we felt that National Park Authorities would not have, or need, the

types of data required to support data sharing arrangements under the Digital Economy Act.

4.2 Television Retuning Objective

This objective is designed to allow relevant public bodies to share information that helps

identify and contact individuals and households who may be eligible for assistance under a

television retuning scheme. Respondents were asked:

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Question 5:

Are these the right individuals and devolved organisations to support the television retuning

objective?

The 12 respondents answered this question as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 6:

Are there additional individuals or devolved organisations that could be included for the

television retuning objective?

Eleven responses were received to this question. Suggestions for additional bodies to be

included were similar to those made for the multiple disadvantages objective; and included:

 Health bodies

 Housing authorities and registered social landlords

 Welsh police forces

As policing is not a devolved matter in Wales only the UK Parliament has the ability to include

police forces. Paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 to the Digital Economy Act 2017 includes the ‘chief

officer of police for a police area in England and Wales.’ Therefore police forces in Wales will

be able to access the new powers alongside other devolved and non-devolved bodies.

As outlined in the consultation, Welsh Government are unable to name health bodies in

relation to UK objectives. Further detail about the inclusion of health bodies can be found in

Section 5.

We also agreed with the suggestion for Registered Social Landlords to be included for this

objective, as social landlords are likely to have information about their tenants that would

indicate they could be eligible for support in a television retuning scheme. We had already

included Registered Social Landlords in our proposed list.

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Decision

No changes were made to the list of bodies able to share data under the television retuning

objective.

4.3 Fuel Poverty Objective

This objective will permit specified public bodies to share information with other specified

public bodies and gas and electricity suppliers to assist people living in fuel poverty.

Respondents were asked:

Question 7:

Are these the right individuals and devolved organisations to support the fuel poverty

objective?

The 12 respondents answered this question as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 8

Are there additional individuals or devolved organisations that could be included for the fuel

poverty objective?

Thirteen responses were received to this question. Suggestions for additional bodies

included:

 Health bodies

 Educational organisations

 Registered Social Landlords

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As already noted above, we are not able to include health bodies for any of the objectives as

these also include UK public bodies.

Some responses also suggested that schools, colleges and universities would also be likely to

have information about students and their families that could indicate that they were living in

fuel poverty, and should be included. We agreed with this suggestion.

A suggestion was also made to include organisations – such as charities - that provide

support to those with specific learning or other disabilities who may struggle to understand

bills or other paperwork. Whilst these organisations may have a wealth of data that they

could share to support the fuel and water poverty objectives, the new powers are only

available to organisations that meet the definition set out in Part 45(1) of the Digital Economy

Act 2017, which limits the powers to organisations that undertake tasks of a ‘public nature’.

Section 45(8) also states that an organisation would not be considered a public body if they

are undertaking those tasks on behalf of a public authority.

This means that charities and other organisations that provide support to individuals with

learning or other disabilities cannot be given the new powers directly. However, if a support

organisation is ‘providing services in connection with a specified objective to a specified

person who is a public authority’ they may be able to share data in certain circumstances.

Decision

Publicly funded schools, further education colleges and universities were all added to the list

of bodies able to share data under the fuel poverty objective.

We also decided to include Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for this objective after further

investigations within Welsh Government. NRW is a ‘first responder’ in the event of a major

environmental incident, and we felt it would be useful for them to be able to share

information about citizens they identify being in need that they may become aware of in

course of responding to incidents.

4.4 Water Poverty Objective

The water poverty objective is similar to the fuel poverty objective, in that public bodies

named against this objective will be able to share data with other public bodies as well as

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water and sewerage providers to assist lower income households who cannot be supplied

with water or sewerage services at a reasonable cost. Respondents were asked:

Question 9

Are these the right individuals and devolved organisations to support the water poverty

objective?

The 12 respondents answered this question as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 10:

Are there additional individuals or devolved organisations that could be included for the

water poverty objective?

A number of suggestions were made for additional bodies to which these powers could be

extended. These were similar to those suggested for the fuel poverty objective and the other

objectives:

 Health bodies

 Educational organisations

 Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)

 Support organisations.

Decision

In common with the changes made under the fuel poverty section, publicly funded schools,

further education colleges and universities were all added to the list of bodies able to share

data under the water poverty objective. Similarly, we also decided to include Natural

Resource Wales for the same reasons as for fuel poverty.

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5. Wales only objectives

The legislation also enables Welsh Ministers to define additional Wales only objectives, which

would allow devolved Welsh public bodies to share data under Chapter 5 of the Act. We

asked for suggestions on what future Wales only objectives might be required to support

public services in Wales. Respondents were asked:

Question 11:

Are there other objectives that the Welsh Government could develop in future, and what are

the current barriers for not sharing data for those purposes?

A number of suggestions were received including:

 Early intervention for troubled families;

 Supporting vulnerable people with utility bills;

 Reducing the levels of bad debt for water/sewerage services;

 Helping patients better understand and manage their illnesses;

 Supporting social care leavers;

 Supporting young people not in employment, education or training;

 Identifying and supporting service users with complex needs; and

 Reducing recidivism rates for specific categories of offenders

We also asked about what prevents data being shared for these reasons currently. A variety

of reasons were given including:

 Doubts about the accuracy of the data and whether it relates to the right person(s);

 Uncertainty over the legal grounds for sharing;

 A lack of secure means to transfer data;

 Underdeveloped or unused sharing protocols; and

 Organisational caution

Question 12:

Which individuals or organisations could be given powers to share data to support those

objectives?

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Only 4 suggestions were made for additional bodies that could be included, which were:

 Health workers;

 Public Service Board members;

 Any public sector body that holds information that could be of assistance to the

specified objective; and

 Relevant voluntary sector organisations.

As set out in section 5, we have included health bodies for the public service delivery

objective, which means that they will be able to share data with other Welsh public bodies

once they are named against a specific objective.

We believe that the public authorities we have named are those which will be able to make

full use of the powers. If a new objective would benefit from the addition of other public

sector partners, we will work closely with UK Government to ensure that any changes to

Schedule 4 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 were amended to allow them to be named.

As explained in section 5.3, we are not able to extend the new powers directly to voluntary or

sector organisations as they do not meet the definition of a public authority for that

purpose. However, if an organisation is undertaking work specifically in relation to an

objective on behalf of a public authority that is named, they would be able to make use of the

new powers on behalf of that public authority.

Decision

There are no immediate plans to introduce new Wales only objectives for Welsh public

authorities, however we will review all of these suggestions, and any future suggestions to

consider whether they should be adopted. Some of the suggestions provided in response to

Question 11 could be delivered through the objectives already put in regulation by UK

Government. Welsh Government is committed to working with public sector partners across

Wales and beyond to ensure that the new powers are utilised as effectively as possible.

Any objectives suggested that would be benefit from the inclusion of non-devolved public

bodies will need to be agreed by UK Government.

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6. Health bodies

Whilst Welsh Government is unable to name health bodies in relation to UK objectives, the

consultation outlined proposals to include a small number of health related public bodies,

such as NHS Trusts, that may be able to share data in relation to future Wales only objectives.

Naming Welsh health bodies in the legislation does not commit them to sharing data, but

enables them to do so in the future, if it is determined that this would be of benefit.

Respondents were asked:

Question 13:

Do you agree that allowing health related bodies in Wales to share data to support specific

public service objectives would be of benefit? Please explain your answer.

The 11 respondents answered as follows:

Agree

Disagree

Neither agree nor disagree

Total

Question 14:

What safeguards would need to be in place for data held by health bodies to be shared in

Wales?

Whilst responses varied, there were a number of key themes that were common across a

number of the suggestions we received, such as:

 Data encryption and secure means of moving data around;

 The existing Caldicott principles on the access, use and transfer of identifiable patient

information;

 Clear agreements on what could be shared, and what couldn’t;

 Clear guidance and procedures to follow, in line with the requirements as set out in the

new General Data Protection Regulations

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Question 15:

What type of objectives could health bodies be able to support?

Respondents identified a number of suggestions for the types of objectives health bodies

could support, including:

 Public safety and emergency planning;

 Supporting those with specific health needs;

 Reducing income inequality;

 Improving educational achievement;

 Supporting looked after children;

 Supporting the long term unemployed;

 Reducing homelessness; and

 Supporting victims of crime

Respondents from health bodies in Wales also felt that the new powers could be used to

support existing health board objectives such as:

 Improving health and well-being;

 Reducing health inequalities;

 Partnership working to design and deliver care closer to patient’s homes;

 Improving care outcomes;

 Learning from the experiences of individuals; and

 Using resources wisely, transforming services through innovation and research.

Decision

Welsh health bodies were added to Schedule 5 to the Digital Economy Act 2017, but not

named against an objective. We will take this feedback into account when designing future

objectives and are committed to further engagement before those objectives are set.

Question 16:

Should health bodies be able to share data for the purposes of dealing with debts owed to,

or fraud against, public bodies? Please explain your answer.

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Views on this were mixed; some respondents felt that these powers should not be given to

health bodies at all, and others felt that there were circumstances in which health data could

be useful for fraud and debt purposes.

For the debt powers, concerns were raised about the potential for the new powers for debt to

deter people from seeking medical help when needed if they thought that this data could be

used to help identify and locate them. Conversely, a number of responses felt that health

bodies could make use of the new powers to help recover debts from overseas visitors who

had used the NHS in non-emergency situations. Fewer concerns were raised around health

bodies potential to share some data for the purposes of dealing with fraud.

Decision

Health bodies in Wales are not able to share data using the new powers to identify and tackle

fraud and debt. Welsh Government has no plans to alter this in the future.

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7. Welsh Language

The consultation outlined the importance of ensuring that data that is provided, captured or

shared in the Welsh Language can be used in the same way as data in English, and that the

service user’s preferences are taken into account. Respondents were asked:

Question 16:

How else do you think this legislation could be used to promote or support the Welsh

Language?

Stakeholders responding to this question felt that the new powers could be used to ensure

that an individual’s preference to receive correspondence and other communications in

Welsh was communicated effectively.

Additionally, one stakeholder felt the new regulations could be used as an opportunity to

stress and reinforce the validity of Welsh as a language of official record creation.

Decision

Welsh Government will consider whether the new powers could be used to ensure an

individual’s language preference are met. We are also committed to ensuring any impact on

the Welsh Language is fully assessed in the development of any future objectives.

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8. Other issues identified

Respondents were also asked:

Question 17:

We have asked a number of questions, but are there any other issues you would like to raise

about data-sharing between public bodies, or about any of the areas covered above?

A number of responses provided additional information or raised other concerns around data

sharing, particularly around the safety of information, and its accuracy, and whether it’s being

used for its intended purpose. Welsh Government recognises that public concerns about how

data is used, moved and shared are valid and expects that all public bodies that use the new

powers take steps to ensure the data they share is accurate and stored safely.

Concerns were also raised about whether the public bodies named, especially the smaller

ones, would have the capacity to be given the powers, particularly in light of the enhanced

data protection requirements introduced in relation to the General Data Protection

Regulations (GDPR) that came into force in May 2018.

Welsh Government recognises the importance of GDPR compliance and that using the new

powers will result in some resource requirements for public bodies. However, the enhanced

data protection regime should not prevent devolved Welsh bodies from having access to the

same powers as non-devolved and English bodies. The new powers are permissive, and a

public body that does not feel it has the capacity or ability to use the new powers safely will

not be obliged to use them. The new powers will provide a clear and legal basis under which

to share data and will not require the creation of new legal gateways that require new

legislation, meaning data can be shared much more quickly.

The UK Government have published Codes of Practice for the use of all of the new powers.

These set out the public body’s obligations when sharing data along with details of what

steps need to be taken before data is shared – including compliance with GDPR. These Codes

are also be available in Welsh.

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9. How we used your feedback

The feedback we received helped us to fully review and finalise the lists of public authorities

in Wales that were to be added to Schedules 4-8 of the Digital Economy Act, and the lists of

bodies that were to be named against the four objectives UK Government were making.

The amendments to the Schedules to the Digital Economy Act were made through the Digital

Government (Welsh Bodies) (Wales) Regulations 2018, which were approved by Welsh

Ministers on 25

April 2018.

The multiple disadvantages, television retuning, fuel and water poverty objectives were set

out in the Digital Government (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018, which were

approved by the Houses of Parliament on 18

July 2018.

Welsh Government are now considering all of the suggestions made for new objectives for

the public service delivery powers, and is committed to further engagement and consultation

on any new objectives that we may wish to make.